Jaune Arc: The Elemental Swordsman
by LordHellPhoenix
Summary: Jaune wanted to be a Huntsman but his parents refused to let him train. So at 9, he ran away to find a master to teach him. 8 years later he is on his way to Beacon with his training and best friends, Nora and Ren, to help him on his path to be a Huntsman. Will he make it or will his past hold him back? Will he find love? Will it be with just one girl? (Coverart by Khor Evik)
1. Beginning of the Journey

Jaune Arc had his eyes closed and was leaning against the wall of the airship taking him and many other students to Beacon Academy to begin their training to become Huntsmen and Huntresses. He was wearing his signature black hoodie with a silver zipper that ran up the front of it, along with dark blue jeans, black steel toed boots and his black fingerless gloves. He also had his white greaves that covered his knees, vambracers and a rerebrace on his left arm, along with his chest plate that covered his chest and upper back. Most were excited but he had other things on his mind, specifically keeping his breakfast down. Trying to avoid an embarrassing first impression to all his new peers, Jaune was mentally trying to ease his nausea with little results. He was about to resort to his Aura until a voice distracted him.

"Jaune? Are you alright? You're looking kinda green!"

Jaune opened his eyes and looked down at the orange hair girl looking up at him with mild concern. Nora Valkyrie, his longtime friend and honorary sister, they had been together for years now. Along with their other friend and Jaune's honorary brother Lie Ren, who was standing next to him and looking at him with his usual stoic face. These three had been the best of friends since they day they met and all trained by the same person that taught them their skills. Despite the tough times they all shared, he wouldn't trade a second of that time.

With a sigh and a small grin Jaune reached over to gently pat her on the head, something he's done since they were ten. "Don't worry, Nora. Just another bout with my motion sickness."

Realization dawned on Nora and she quickly stepped back. "Motion sickness? That's not good! Last time you hurled everywhere! Don't do it on me! Maybe Ren, he's wearing green so no one would know! But then I wouldn't be able to hug him! That's even worse!" Nora started to go on one of her usual tirades, which led to Ren sighing and Jaune chuckling at their usual antics.

"I'll be fine Nora. I was about to use the Aura technique Ren and I know to help out with the symptoms. That was until you distracted me." he gave her a smirk.

"Oh, that makes sense. We'll leave you to it. Come on, Ren, let's explore the ship!" She quickly grabbed Ren by the arm and started to lead him away. Ren quickly gave him a look that said, 'You owe me one.' Over the years, the three of them learned to communicate by giving secret looks to each other, usually to have a private conversation from others or even the third member of their group. Jaune replied with the look that said, 'I know, I know.' He smiled at the two before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes again. He started to slowly use his Aura. He would start by flaring it at the center of his chest and slowly spread it outwards to every part of his body. Once he did that he would send the Aura back to his center before repeating in a very slow, rhythmic fashion. He could already feel his nausea lessening after a full minute of this treatment, another few cycles and he should be fine for the rest of the journey. He was about to finish when he got the feeling that someone was watching him.

He opened his eyes and looked around until his eyes landed on a short girl across from him with red tipped black hair, clad in black and red. She was standing next to a blonde hair girl with shorts and a tan jacket. When she realized he was looking at her, her eyes widened and she quickly looked down at the ground. She kept taking glances at him. 'Must be nervous.' He thought. He gave her a reassuring smile and gave her a small wave. Her eyes widened again but this time she returned the smile and waved back. The blonde hair girl took notice of this, she looked over at him and gave him a critical stare. Not sure how to respond Jaune was about to smile when he felt a sudden wave of nausea. He grimaced and quickly closed his eyes to resume his treatment before he had an embarrassing moment. Almost done, he was distracted by a clearly angry woman's voice coming from in front of him.

"Hey, what's your problem!?"

Jaune quickly put up his hand to stop her. Keeping his eyes closed and finishing up. Ten seconds later his nausea lessened again to a very manageable level, he exhaled and opened his eyes to see both girls that were standing across from him, now standing directly in front of him. The blonde was clearly angry while the brunette was looking between the two of them nervously.

"Sorry about that. Can I help you two with something?" Jaune asked genuinely and was curious what had happened.

The blonde quickly pointed her finger in his face, "You better start explaining. First you wave to my sister and when I look over at you, you give us a disgusted look? What the hell is that about!?"

Jaune looked at her in confusion before he realized what had happened. He bowed his head slightly before saying, "I'm sorry for that, I wasn't exactly feeling well and closed my eyes to help with the issue. I didn't mean to give off that impression and am sorry that I insulted you."

The blonde was taken back for a second. She expected him to give some half-baked excuse but instead he gave her a genuine apology. She quickly regained he composure before continuing slightly embarrassed, "Oh. Um, it's alright. Sorry that I jumped to a conclusion."

Jaune raised his head and smiled, "I guess we're even then." He held out his hand to her, "My name's Jaune. Jaune Arc."

The blonde took his hand and grinned, "Yang Xiao Long. Nice to meet you." She let go of his hand and patted the head of the girl standing beside her, "This is my little sister, Ruby Rose." Ruby started to swat away at her sister's hands in embarrassment before she saw Jaune's hand in front of her and looked up at him smiling at her.

"It's nice to meet you Ruby."

Ruby hesitantly took his hand before smiling back and happily responding, "Nice to meet you too." They let go of each other's hands before Ruby asked, "Are you here by yourself?" She looked around for anyone that was with him. Jaune just shook his head.

"No, I'm actually here with my two best friends. They're around here somewhere. They left me alone to deal with my issue."

Both girls looked at him quizzically before Yang asked, "Issue? What issue?"

Jaune scratched the back of his head before sheepishly saying, "I may suffer from motion sickness." He saw the two take a step back before he sighed and continued, "I used my Aura to sort it before you two came over here. Don't worry, your shoes are safe." He smirked at them. The two smiled weakly before the three had a quick laugh. When they all stopped Jaune had his own question to ask, "Not to sound rude but aren't you a bit young to attend Beacon, Ruby?"

She looked at him nervously before saying, "Actually, I was moved ahead two years. It's exciting but I'm gonna miss my friends back at Signal though."

Yang put her arm around her sister to comfort her. "Don't worry Ruby. You can always make more."

"It was hard enough the first time."

Jaune looked at her sadly before smiling, "Well, you have me as your friend. That is if you want to." Jaune was scratching the back of his head nervously before he felt Ruby grab his other hand with both of her's. He looked down to see her jumping up and down happily.

"I would love that! Thank you, thank you, Jaune!" He chuckled in response before Ruby and Yang started to have a conversation. He wasn't paying much attention because he was just looking at Ruby's silver eyes. He never met someone with silver eyes before and found them magnificent. The held so much hope and happiness in them. He felt like he could look into them forever. He was snapped out of his stupor when Ruby got his attention, "Jaune?" she was not making eye contact and seemed nervous.

"Sorry, Ruby, I was deep in thought. What did you say?"

"You've been staring at me for a while now. I was just wondering why?"

Realization dawned on him again, "I'm sorry, Ruby, I've never seen someone with silver eyes before. I was distracted by how beautiful they are." His eyes widened at what he said. So did Yang's and Ruby's, before Ruby turned the same shade of red as her cloak before pulling it over her head. "Oh man, that came out wrong. I didn't mean to say that. I mean, I did but not that way. I mean, not that they aren't beautiful because they are but, you know. I'm gonna shut up now." His face turned red and he looked away.

There were a few seconds of awkward silence before he heard a snicker. He looked back just in time to see Yang doubled over before she started laughing like crazy. "Oh my Oum, you two are by far the most awkward people I've ever seen!" Jaune and Ruby looked at each other before they joined Yang in laughing. Jaune just met these two girls but he felt that they would get along just fine.


	2. Usual Beacon Welcome?

Not long after Jaune got to know Yang and Ruby, they all arrived at Beacon. He told the sisters to go on without him and waited for Ren and Nora to return from their 'adventure'. They showed up not long after and Nora regaled him on the adventure they had meeting their fellow classmates and finding her eternal rival! Jaune looked at Ren for some kind of input but Ren only shrugged. Either he was still irritated that Jaune left him to the devices of Nora or had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. Maybe both.

"Alright, alright. Come on you two, let's see what Beacon has to offer us." Jaune said cheerily before leading the three of them off the ship and they all stopped to stare at Beacon. It appeared more like a castle than a school. Jaune was about to say exactly that.

"Oh my Oum, we're living at a castle now!" Until Nora beat him to it, with twice as much energy and triple the volume. "Do you think a wizard lives in that tower?! Oh, where there are wizards there are dragons! Where are the dragons! I'm gonna find them and slay them, or tame them! We would be awesome if we flew into battle on our own dragon! Let's go!" Before either Jaune or Ren could stop her, Nora already had Magnhild in hammer mode and was running off into the school and knocking over everyone in her way.

"NORA!" they both shouted and took off after her moving as fast as they could. Halfway to the retreating form of Nora, Jaune caught something in the corner of his eye. He quickly looked to see Ruby apparently being yelled at by another girl in white. He would've left it alone until he saw the girl in white thrashing her hand around and seeing a red mist forming between the two. His eyes widened when he realized what it was. Dust. Not stopping he turned towards the two of them and kicked off with his Aura to reach them. He appeared between them in a blur with his right hand extended. The mist of dust glowed red for a second before it all turned a dull white before it blew away. Jaune sighed as he put his arm down and stood up straight. "That was almost too close." He chuckled and looked at Ruby. "You okay, Ruby?" Before she could respond, they were interrupted by a shrill scream.

"What do think you are doing, you dolt!?" Jaune turned around to see the other girl glaring at him. Now closer he could see that she was a very beautiful girl. Like an angel made of snow but her attitude was definitely a turn off.

He smiled at her and calmly stated, "Saving my friend and you, Snow Angel. You were throwing around some fire dust and if I didn't interfere, you two probably would've been blown off the cliffside." She was taken back, not by the nickname or his bluntness but by his eyes. They would've been the perfect shade of sapphire blue if it weren't for the tinges of crimson mixed in them. And were the tinges glowing slightly? She quickly regained her composure and looked down at her hand to see the vial of dust had a somewhat damaged seal. She was embarrassed to say the least. She looked at the two before huffing a response.

"You appear to be right. I made a mistake and you saved me from the embarrassing and dangerous repercussions, so I thank you."

"No problem but I think you owe my friend here an apology as well." Jaune stated as he motioned to Ruby behind him.

She stared at Ruby for a few seconds before looking away "I'm sorry."

Ruby nervously giggled and sheepishly grinned, "It's alright. I was partially responsible for the accident." Ruby looked at Jaune who was looking back at her with a grin. She noticed the new red in his eyes before they disappeared and she decided it was a trick of the light. She silently mouthed 'Thank you' to him and he just smiled and nodded to her. By the time they turned around the girl in white was walking away. Before she got too far, Jaune spoke to her, "Think we could get your name?"

She looked back at him in shock. "You don't know who I am?"

Jaune shrugged, "Sorry but no. I've spent most of my time training outside the Kingdoms, so I don't keep up with recent events." Ruby chuckled at that.

With her shock gone, she turned back around and gave a small curtsy, "I'm Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company."

Jaune made his own small bow, "Jaune Arc, a pleasure to meet you."

Weiss grinned at him, "Likewise."

Ruby stood beside Jaune and did a clumsier bow, "I'm Ruby Rose. Nice to meet you." Which made Jaune smile slightly more.

Weiss looked at her with a bit of irritation "Nice to meet you." She quickly turned around and walked away.

The two turned to each other, "Seems more like an Ice Queen rather than a Snow Angel." Jaune jokingly said which caused Ruby to giggle. Jaune looked around for a second. "What happened to Yang? Weren't you two together?"

Ruby pouted and Jaune saw that as adorable. "She ditched me and that's what lead to this whole event." She said sadly.

Jaune gently patted her on her head and Ruby looked up in minor shock, "Sorry, may not count for much but I'm still here." He smiled reassuringly at her and Ruby returned it.

"It counts." She said before blushing slightly then she remembered something. "Weren't you waiting for your friends?"

Jaune's eyes widened before he facepalmed "I was, until Nora ran off and we had to chase after her. Well, that was til I had to play hero." He smirked at her which earned him a small shove. He chuckled and looked around' "Oh well, Ren probably caught up to her considering the lack of explosions. So, wanna hang out for the time being?" Ruby nodded quickly and they headed off towards the main entrance. Ruby noticed something on Jaune's back she didn't see until now. It looked like a black, metal sheathe for a greatsword on his back but with no handle in sight. Was this his weapon? Because if it was, it seemed odd. Eventually her curiosity won out.

"Hey, Jaune, is that your weapon on your back?" she pointed up at it.

Jaune stopped and turned around to face her, "Yup. Why?"

She shuffled her feet nervously, "Well, it looks like a giant sword but it has no handle. It doesn't really make sense to me. I'm sorry, that sounded wrong. I'm just a weapon nerd." She looked down at the ground dejectedly, as if Jaune was gonna make fun of her or yell at her for insulting his weapon.

Jaune just looked at her with a small smile. "Well, you're half right."

She looked up at him "What?"

He just smiled at her, he raised his right hand and closed it into a fist and spun around for Ruby to get a look at his back. The giant sheathe split into five: the two on the edges folded out to a 45-degree angle on either side of him, while the two middle-center folded out to be just behind his shoulders and the final stayed directly over his spine. Once they were in position, handles popped out of all the sheathes, ready to be wielded. He looked back over his shoulder with his smile still there. "There's not just one sword."

Ruby stared wide eyed at the blades on his back before she squealed in a high pitch voice. "Oh my Oum, those look so cool! Why do you use five swords? How do you get the sheathes to move like that? Why do the handles go into the blades? Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

Jaune turned back to her with his hands raised in mock surrender, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Ruby, stop and breathe for a second and I'll tell you." He chuckled slightly while the swords return to their standby mode on his back. He waited for he to calm down a little bit before he decided to explain. "I use five swords because each one uses a different kind of dust I use to help fight. The servos on the outside of the sheathes respond to both of my gloves." He explained as he showed her "By applying pressure with a finger and slight 'pressure' with my Aura, the metal rings on the gloves sense this and send a signal for what sword or swords I want to use." He demonstrates by closing his right pinky with a slight white glow of his aura. This time though the sheathes stayed together and just rotated until they were over his right shoulder. Finally, the handle of the right most blade deployed. "The handles go inside to make it easier for me to draw a sword without the others getting in the way." He drew the sword in a split second to reveal it fully. It looked like a traditional single-edged short sword from the old knight tales Yang used to read to her. The handle, pommel and cross guard were made of a black metal, while the blade was a silver metal. The broad side of the sword had what appeared to be a circuit-like design on them that glowed yellow along with the edge of the blade. "Also, it looks pretty cool in my opinion."

Ruby just stared for a few seconds with wide eyes before she closed the distance between them in a rush of rose petals and was just examining the sword, gloves and sheathes. "Cool. You must've put a lot of work into them." She said in what seemed like awe.

Jaune sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "It took some time to design them properly. Took me the better part of a year to get it right. Especially because I added more swords. This one I'm holding was the first one I built." He looked down at it with a small smile. "I named her Raikiri."

She looked up at him with a bit of confusion, "Raikiri? What does that mean?"

He smiled at her before taking a few steps back. He pulled his sword back readying for a swing and as he did, the blade started to be surrounded with lightning. He swung fast upwards and the lightning arced off the blade into the sky above. He rested the blade on his shoulder and turned back at her. "Roughly means Lightning Cutter."

Ruby was just staring "Oh…"

Jaune chuckled again, "You gonna be okay Ruby?"

She quickly shook her head to clear her mind. "Yeah. Just was a bit overwhelmed." She said bashfully.

"So, you've seen what I use. Can I see what your weapon is?" Her eyes got a gleam of pride before she reached behind her and pulled out her weapon that unfolded into a giant scythe then slammed it into the ground. Jaune jumped slightly at that and stared at the short girl wielding the giant weapon. "That appears to be a scythe." Still in shock.

She grinned and cocked it, "It's also a customizable, high-impact sniper rifle!"

"You put a gun into a giant scythe?" he said in mild shock.

She smiled widely, "Yup!"

Jaune put his head down and shook it slightly with a small smile. "I thought I went overboard designing mine."

She got slightly nervous with that, "Maybe I did go a tad overboard."

Jaune waved the comment off, "Nah, it suits you"

She smiled, "Thanks, Jaune." She folded up her weapon and returned it behind her back. Jaune sheathed Raikiri than thought of something. "What did you name her?"

"Crescent Rose."

"Good name." The two smiled at each other and started to resume their walk. They were in a comfortable silence until Ruby spoke up.

"Do you know where we're going?"

Jaune simply shrugged, "I was just going where I saw everyone else go. Hopefully, we don't get lost." He looked down and smirked at her and she returned it with her own smile before they entered the main entrance to see all the other first years. "Well, either we're in the right place or everyone else is lost as well." Ruby giggled slightly at that.

What got their attention next was Yang waving in the front row shouting, "Ruby, I saved you a seat!"

Ruby was about to say something to Jaune when something else caught their attention. The person next to Yang was jumping up and down, waving her arms and shouting, "Jaune! We're over here!" The two looked at each other and chuckled before they made their way to the front row, Ruby standing beside Yang while Jaune stood between Yang and Nora. Nora looked at Ruby then Jaune then back to Ruby before she asked innocently, "Jaune? Is she your new girlfriend?"

Ruby blushed right before Jaune sighed tiredly before turning to Nora. "No, Nora, she isn't my girlfriend." He turned to Ruby "No offense, Ruby. Nothing against you but I know a relationship between us wouldn't work out."

Ruby was taken back by his bluntness. Right before Yang grabbed Jaune by his collar and pulled him down to eye level, which were red now. "What exactly does that mean, what's the problem with my sister?!"

Nora and Ren were about to intervene before Jaune raised a hand to say 'It's fine.' Jaune just looked into Yang's eyes with a neutral stare, "I never said Ruby would be the problem." Yang was taken back by this but before she could continue Ozpin came out on stage and gave his speech. Afterwards, the group of five left and were just talking. Once they got to the courtyard, Jaune got all their attentions. "Okay, introductions. Ruby, Yang, these are my best friends and fellow students. Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Ren, Nora, this is my new friend Ruby Rose and her sister Yang Xiao Long." They all said their hellos before Yang took notice of something.

"So what, I'm just Ruby's sister? Not your friend?"

Jaune looked up and thought for a second, "Maybe. We never said we were friends and you've tried to knock my head off, how many times now?" he smirked at her, "But seriously, it'd be great to have you as a friend, Yang."

Yang got a devilish grin before she leaned over at him provocatively, "Hmmmm, just friends? You wouldn't want anything more?" Everyone was taken back by this and Ruby was about to yell at Yang when Jaune said in the same neutral voice as before.

"Yes, Yang. I would love it if you were my friend, but no, nothing more."

Ruby was shocked again and Yang's jaw almost dropped. She expected him to get all flustered, especially with the awkwardness he showed on the airship. But instead, he sounded…. dead inside. Why? Before she could bring it up, he was already on his way towards the ballroom. "We'd better hurry before all the best spots are taken." They all looked among each other before chasing after him.

* * *

Later that night, Ren, Nora and Jaune were all sitting with each other, relaxing before bed. Well, Jaune and Ren were. Nora passed out almost as soon as she sat down on her sleeping bag, wearing her usual shorts and t-shirt. Jaune was in a black tank top and blue shorts while Ren was wearing green pajama pants and a grey t-shirt, "Yeah, that was my day. I wonder if this is a usual welcome to Beacon?"

Ren merely chuckled, "Doubtful. Just your luck. Not sure if it's good or bad yet though."

Jaune sighed, "Of course you'd say that. Well, I'm going to bed. Night, Ren." Jaune went to lay down before Ren gently grabbed his arm. "Yes?"

"You might wanna discharge your Semblance first. Don't want your sleeping bag to catch fire, again."

His eyes widened, "You just saved me again, Ren."

"Part of my job. Good night, Jaune." He laid down and almost immediately, Nora rolled over and hugged him.

Jaune just merely chuckled and got into a meditative position and started to discharge his Semblance. Before he heard what sounded like a fight. He looked up and saw Ruby and Yang fighting in front of a girl clad in black. He was going to ignore it until Weiss came over and started yelling at them. Jaune decided to go over before they woke everyone up.

He got over to them and tried to get their attention. "Girls, girls!" They were either ignoring him or just didn't hear him. He sighed again before seeing the candle by the girl in black. He thought for a second before shrugging, "Why not." He reached out his hand and his eyes glowed with that glint of red from before. The flame from the candle flew to his hand and hovered there. He looked up to see all four of the girls looking at him with shock. He smiled, "Now that I have your attention, it's kinda late girls. Why don't you just call it a night and if you're still mad, you can continue to fight when you're more rested. Deal?" They all nodded at him dumbly before his smile widened. "Sweet." He crouched down by the girl in black before he brought his hand back to the candle where the fire went back to its original position and his eyes went back to their usual blue. "Sorry if I disturbed your reading."

She was still staring at him, "It's okay. No harm done. Um?"

"Jaune. My name's Jaune."

"Blake."

"A pleasure to meet you." He smiled before he got up and started to walk back over to his sleeping bag.

"Wait, Jaune, was that your Semblance?" Ruby asked.

Jaune turned back around to see all four of them were waiting for his answer. He just smirked, "That would be telling." He turned back around before waving at them, "Good night, ladies." He went back to his sleeping bag before promptly falling asleep.


	3. Initiation

Jaune was woken up in the usual way of Nora belly flopping onto him while shouting, "Wake up, Fearless Leader!" When Nora got off of him, he just rolled over and groaned in pain. Having huge reserves of aura doesn't mean much when your unconscious. From his position he looked up at Ren, who was trying not to smirk. Jaune shot him a glare that said, 'You're enjoying this.' Ren merely raised an eyebrow meaning, 'Karma for yesterday.' Jaune just did a combination between a sigh and a groan before he stood up and stretched the stiffness of his muscles.

"Nora. When will you stop calling me that? You might get another leader after teams are formed and that new leader may not like you calling me that."

"Nope."

"Nope?"

"Yup. You'll always be my Fearless Leader, even if we get another leader which we won't. We've got a plan!" She smiled widely up at Jaune and all he could do was sigh with his own smile.

He patted her on the head, "Guess you got me there." She giggled and helped Ren up before all three went off to get ready for the day. The whole time Nora was going over her plan on how she'd be partners with Ren and all three would be on the same team afterwards. Ren listened stoically and Jaune just smiled at her usual antics. They were in the locker room waiting for Ren to get StormFlower out of his locker and Jaune decided to mess with Nora. He was leaning against the locker next to Ren's when he had a look of mock realization. "Nora, you'd rather be Ren's partner over mine?" He put his hand over his chest "Your words wound my already wounded heart, it may just break with that." He said very sadly.

Nora's eyes widened to comical proportions before she jumped forward and put Jaune into a bear hug. "I'm sorry, Jaune! I didn't mean it that way. I'd love it if you were my partner, it's just Ren is so…. Ren. Not that you aren't great!" Jaune decided to put an end to this before she had a mental breakdown.

"Nora, I was teasing you. I'm not upset that you want Ren as a partner." He smiled genuinely at her.

Nora took a deep breath before giving a glare, "That's not nice."

Since his arms were stilled pinned down by the hug, he simple kissed Nora on the forehead. "I'm sorry, Little Sis. Didn't mean to hurt you."

Nora looked at him for a second before she let go, "I'll forgive you but next time I'll break your legs."

He chuckled at her usual threat before Ren and Nora started to walk away, "I'll catch up. I still need my gear." He started walking towards his locker when he walked past Ruby and Yang. "Morning, you two."

The two looked to Jaune and returned the greeting. Ruby appeared in front of Jaune before he could walk away. "So, Jaune, you gonna tell us how you did that thing with the candle?" she looked up at him waiting. Jaune just smirked at her before ruffling her hair.

"Sorry, Ruby. Gotta keep some secrets." She started to swat his hand away with a faint blush. Until Yang pulled him into a headlock and he noticed his head was snug against her breasts. He flushed for a second until Yang spoke to him.

"Come on, Jauney, you can tell us. We can keep a secret."

"Hmm. Nope. And would you let go of me?"

"What don't like the way I'm holding you?" Yang asked teasingly.

Jaune sighed and decided to roll with it to get out of this faster. "Actually, it's very nice. Your 'assets' are very soft and your heartbeat is calming. I just know my neck is starting to ache." Both sisters were shocked at that. Ruby because someone was actually turning Yang's teasing back at her and Yang because Jaune was speaking with blunt honesty again. It made her feel weird, not bad weird just different. "You okay, Yang? Your heartbeat got a lot faster." Yang quickly let go of Jaune before saying with a slight blush.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just nervous about initiation is all, I guess."

"Same here. Well, I'll see you two later." He waved at them before going over to his locker. Which now he noticed had Weiss and another girl with red hair and dressed like a Spartan standing in front of it. He cleared his throat to get their attention.

They turned and Weiss sent him a slight glare. "Jaune, we're kinda in the middle of a conversation." She said mildly annoyed.

"I know but you two happen to be in front of my locker." Indicating it. "Kinda need my gear, if you don't mind." Weiss calmed down and the two stepped away from each other so Jaune could get to it. He smiled "Thank you." Before he went to the locker he turned to the other girl. "I'm sorry for being rude. I'm Jaune Arc. Who are you, may I ask?"

Both girls looked at him in disbelief, "You seriously don't know who she is?" Weiss asked.

Jaune shrugged before opening his locker and putting on his chest plate. "No, Snow Angel. I told you before, I trained outside the kingdoms. Didn't have time to keep up with current events."

She huffed, "Right. This is Pyrrha Nikos."

Jaune just got done strapping his greaves on and rose with a smile. "Nice name and a pleasure to meet you."

Pyrrha slightly blushed before Weiss continued slightly more annoyed, "Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum."

Jaune was putting on his right vambracer on and looked back up at Pyrrha, "Wow, you must be smart. I was never one for book learning, I prefer to learn from experience."

"She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row. A new record in fact." Weiss was getting more annoyed.

Jaune was tightening his left vambracer now. "Impressive. You must be extremely skilled."

Weiss finally lost it, "She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!"

Jaune was finishing up putting his rerebrace on his left arm when he heard that. He stopped and snapped his fingers. "So that's where I've seen you before, it was driving me nuts. That's pretty cool but the cereal kinda sucks. No offense." Jaune added sheepishly.

Pyrrha just shook her head with a polite grin, "It's quite alright. I agree with you wholeheartedly."

Jaune just chuckled, "Well, I'd wish you luck but I doubt you need it. Maybe we'll get lucky and be on the same team." Jaune said with a smile.

"You really think you're in the same league as Pyrrha? Are you serious?" Weiss couldn't believe what he was saying.

Jaune was reaching in for his swords and didn't turn around to answer. "Maybe." The two looked at him in greater shock as he was putting his swords still in standby mode on his back and tightening his harnesses to hold them in place. "I can't say for sure. I have no idea of her capabilities and barely anyone here has any idea on my own." He finished checking his gear and closed his locker before he turned around to face them. "So, we'll just have to wait and see, Snow Angel."

"Are you going to keep calling me that?" Weiss said slightly annoyed.

Jaune thought for a second, "If you don't want me to I can stop and call you Weiss. I just called you that because I didn't know who you were and that was the first thing that came to mind."

Weiss saw the sincerity in his eyes and turned away with a slight blush, "Just don't call me it all the time and it'll be fine."

Jaune nodded, "You got it, Weiss." He turned to Pyrrha "I wish you both luck in the initiation." He smiled at both and left the locker room. He met up with Nora and Ren and the three of them made their way to the cliffs to start initiation. They each stood on a metal pad: Jaune took one in the middle, Ren took the one to the left of him and Nora stood to the left of Ren. They then waited for the rest of the first years to show up. Jaune had his eyes closed and was mentally preparing himself and focusing his aura to calm his body down slightly.

When he came back to reality, everyone was there and Ozpin was already talking to them all. "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard of rumors about the assignment of 'teams.' Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates today."

Jaune heard a 'What?' coming from his right and looked to see Ruby beside him looking a bit nervous.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well with."

Having not looked away, Jaune saw Ruby get more nervous and start groaning.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after you land will be your partner for the next four years."

It looked like Ruby's world fell apart and shouted "What?!" Jaune reached over and patted her on the head. She looked at him and he smiled reassuringly at her. Her scared look morphed to one of confidence before she nodded to him and he took his hand away.

"After you partner up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path or you will die. You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Any questions?" no one said anything "Good! Now, take your positions."

Jaune bent his knees slightly and prepared himself. He noticed that one by one the students were being launched into the forest. Jaune and Ren watched as Nora got launched. They shared a look and a nod before Ren was then launched. Jaune turned to Ruby and smiled before he was launched as well. As he was flying through the air he waited to get to the height of his ascension before he corrected himself into a vertical stance. He applied pressure with his right ring finger, the sheathes rotated to his right shoulder and the sword in the middle right deployed its handle. Jaune reached for it as he heard a gunshot to his right and turned to see a red and bronze blur coming towards him. He quickly drew his sword to deflect whatever it was. His sword was identical to Raikiri except that it had a light green glow going through the circuits and edge. His eyes shifted to the same light green color and he felt his body become lighter. He aimed for the nearest tree and plunged the blade into the trunk. When his momentum slowed he kicked off the tree and back flipped to the ground.

He popped his shoulder and looked around to see the blur land a few feet away from him. He sheathed his sword and his eyes returned to normal as he walked over to the object. He got closer and saw that it was a javelin, he picked it up and examined it. "Doesn't this belong to Pyrrha? Why did she throw a spear at me?" Before he could think about it he heard the sounds of fighting and took off towards the sound of it.

When he got to a clearing he saw Pyrrha with only a shield to defend herself surrounded by a dozen Beowolves. Without hesitating he applied pressure with his right pinky and drew Raikiri. The blade surrounded itself with lightning and his eyes shifted to yellow. He got into a stance and shouted. "Surge, Raikiri!" he shot off in a blur of lightning towards the Beowolves and stood beside Pyrrha facing the opposite way of her, as the three Beowolves behind him were bisected. Pyrrha was shocked as Jaune just randomly showed up next to her in a blur of lightning.

"Jaune?! How did you-?"

"I'll explain later. Let's finish these things." He hands her javelin to her. "Might wanna hold onto this." He gave her a sideways glance with a smirk. She took it and smiled as two Beowolves flanked them on both sides. Pyrrha shifted her javelin into a rifle form and opened fired while Jaune discharged an arc of lightning at the other two. Down to five Beowolves the both took off in opposite directions. Jaune reached his two and slashed the first across its chest. The second tried to avenge its pack mate and tried to sink its claws into Jaune before he maneuvered himself behind it in a burst of lightning and decapitated the Grimm. He turned to see Pyrrha done with her three. The two were walking over to each other as an Alpha Beowolf emerged behind her ready to sink its teeth into her neck. Jaune charged again in another burst of lightning and got himself between the two, holding it back with his blade.

"Pyrrha, a hand!" Jaune shouted and sidestepped as Pyrrha bashed it with her shield then followed it up by stabbing it with her javelin to push it back. As Jaune jumped back and sheathed Raikiri and his eyes shifted back to blue as he sent aura to his legs to jump above the two. Keeping his hand over his right shoulder, he applied pressure with his right middle finger and the middle sword deployed its handle. He drew the sword as its circuits and edge started to glow red, his eyes shifted to crimson and the blade became engulfed in flames. "Pyrrha, move!" She looked up and quickly jumped back. The Alpha stumbled forward as Jaune swung down and fire started to stream towards it. "Burn, Kakiri!" The Alpha was engulfed in the inferno and was howling in agony as Jaune landed not far from Pyrrha as she watched in awe.

"Jaune." She turned to him. "How did you do that?"

Jaune thought for a second, "Well since we are partners, I'll tell you." He showed her his sword. "Each of my blades contains a different dust. This one contains fire dust so I named her Kakiri or Fire Cutter. Anyways my semblance allows me to have limited control of the element. Also, my eyes shift colors." He pointed to his now crimson eyes. Before Pyrrha could respond the Alpha burst from the flames still burning and charged them claws first. Jaune stepped in front of Pyrrha and caught its arm with his left hand to stop it in its tracks. He lifted it over his head before slamming it into the ground, forming a small crater before impaling it through the head. Jaune pulled out Kakiri and sheathed it before turning to Pyrrha with a smirk. "So, am I in the same league as you, partner?" As his eyes went back to blue. Pyrrha just giggled and lightly punched him in the shoulder.


	4. Grimm Situation

Jaune and Pyrrha were walking towards the direction of the ruins. After the incident with the Beowolves, they ran into no resistance. They were still ready in case any other Grimm should show up but were glad that none had. Especially Jaune, switching between too many elements too quickly could exhaust him. The two new partners were walking together in a comfortable silence but Jaune kept noticing Pyrrha glancing at him from time to time. She looked like she wanted to ask something but didn't know if she should. Jaune turned to her and she quickly looked away. Jaune smiled, "Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha flinched slightly and slowly turned back to him, "Yes, Jaune?"

"You keep glancing over at me, do you wanna ask me something?"

Her eyes widened for a second before she looked down, "No, it's okay."

"You sure? We're partners now, so I'd like us to get along. So, feel free to ask me anything. I'm pretty open to most things."

She looked back up at him, "You sure?"

"Absolutely!" He smiled reassuringly at her.

She smiled back, "It's about how you fight. How did you move so quickly and toss the Alpha like it was nothing?"

He chuckled, "It's a part of my Semblance. When I control an element, my body absorbs some energy from the element and that mixes with my aura temporarily. The result is my body gains a boost to one of my physical attributes. Lightning allows me to move at high speeds and fire increases my strength many times over. That make sense?" he looked back over at her.

She nodded, "Impressive. So why don't you stay fused with the energy now? Just in case?"

"My aura gets used a lot more when I absorb an element, so in the long run it's better for me to only use it when I need to. Even though my aura reserves are pretty large, it can still burn out quickly if I'm not careful. And then I'd be screwed."

Pyrrha nods again, "I understand. Can I ask one more thing, Jaune?"

"Feel free."

"Why did you shout out those catchphrases?" she tilted her head slightly.

Jaune got a little embarrassed and started to scratch his head sheepishly, "Actually, that's because of my friend Nora. She thought that her 'Fearless Leader' should have some cool catchphrases. I did it at first to humor her but eventually I got used to it. I don't usually use them much unless she is around but in the heat of the moment they slip out. Kinda embarrassing, huh?"

Pyrrha stared at him for a second before she giggled, "No. It's nice you did that for your friend." She looked away before saying in a slightly sadder voice, "She must mean a lot to you."

"Well yeah, she's one of my best friends. We've known each other for years, we've trained together and have always been together." He chuckles. "Nowadays though I see her more like my sister than my friend and she sees me as a brother. A lot of people misinterpret our relationship as something more than that." He gave her a sideways glance and a smirk.

Pyrrha blushed for a second, "I'm sorry."

Jaune waved the apology off and smiled, "No harm done."

She smiled back and they went back to the comfortable silence. They walked for a few more minutes before they came to the entrance of a cave. "Think this is it?" Jaune asked her.

"I'm not sure. Should we check it out?"

"Better safe than sorry." Jaune drew Kakiri and walked into the cave with the sword on fire. They walked for a few minutes and found nothing. They were about to turn around to leave, when they saw something glowing in the distance. "What is that?" Jaune asked getting closer.

"Jaune, that may not be the best idea." She said reaching for her weapons. Jaune turned back to say something to her before he had to jump back when the glowing object smashed into the ground next to him. In the light of the flames, the two saw that it was a huge Death Stalker. Pyrrha started to fire shots into its head as Jaune turned to run to her.

"Pyrrha, let's move!" Pyrrha started to turn towards the exit and run while Jaune turned and shot a stream of fire at it. He turned back to see Pyrhha exiting the cave and he quickly sheathed Kakiri and ran after her. When he got outside, he turned around to see the Death Stalker right behind him. He applied pressure with his right thumb and the sheathes rotated to his right shoulder. The left most sword's handle deployed and he drew it. The edges and circuits of the sword had a brown glow to it and his eyes shifted to the same brown. When the Grimm was at the entrance of the cave he impaled the sword into the ground and caused a small tremor which caused it the cave to collapse on top of it. When the dust settled, it was half buried and struggling to free itself. Jaune sheathed his sword, grabbed Pyrrha's hand and ran. "That won't hold it for long." They ran until they exited the forest into the clearing, where they found the ruins. They both sighed in relief before they made their way to the ruins. When they got there they saw Yang and Blake standing there.

Jaune waved at them, "Hey, you two. You ended up as partners?"

Yang nodded, "Yup. Blake gave me a hand with some Ursas. How'd you get paired with Pyrrha?" She asked looking past him to look at her.

"She got surrounded by a few Beowolves and I stepped in to help her." He shrugged.

Yang got a teasing grin, "Oh, we got a hero here, huh?"

He simply walked by her with his own smirk, "You're just jealous because you weren't the princess I saved." Yang blushed slightly at the comeback and Pyrrha blushed at the compliment, while Blake was smirking at the two. Jaune made his way over to the relics and picked up a golden castle. "Hey, Pyr, you okay with this?" He held the relic up for her to see.

Pyrrha reclaimed her senses before she nodded. Jaune attached it to his belt before they heard a series of explosions and saw an Ursa break through the trees. Before it crashed to the ground with Nora riding it's back. They all heard her say, "Aww, it's broken." Before Ren followed her out trying to catch his breathe.

"Nora. Please never do that again." Ren said to her before they both heard a familiar voice.

"Ren, Nora! You guys made it!" They turned to see Jaune making his way over to them and waving. He didn't make it far before he was tackled to the ground by Nora.

"Jaune! We were worried about you! We didn't know if you found a partner or got in over your head! But you're fine! Who's your partner? Tell me, tell me!"

Ren made it over to his two best friends before looking down at them, "Nora. You may want to let go. Jaune can't breathe." Nora quickly looked down and saw Jaune turning blue. Nora quickly jumped off of him and Ren helped him up. Then all three of them started laughing together. The three others just looked on as the three had their little reunion before Nora ran past them and picked up a golden castle and started saying, "I'm queen of the castle, I'm queen of the castle!" as the other two made their way back to the group. Before anyone could say anything, they heard someone screaming before they looked up to see Ruby falling.

Yang started running to get underneath her while Jaune applied pressure with his right ring finger and drew his light green blade with his eyes shifting to the same color. "Storm, Fukiri!" Jaune's legs were surrounded by a small cyclone before he jumped and was propelled into the air. He reached Ruby and pulled her into his chest before he spun around to point his blade at the ground and released a large gust of wind to slow down their descent. As they touched down, Jaune let out a sigh of relief before he looked down at Ruby, "You okay, Ruby?" She looked up at him with a blush and nodded. Jaune smiled and was about to sheathe Fukiri before he heard a second scream and saw Weiss falling from the sky. "Oum damn it!" The cyclone formed again before he flew off towards Weiss at an angle. He caught her and pointed his blade to the ground to slow his descent but they were too close to slow themselves down. Jaune quickly spun around and held Weiss close as he hit the ground and started sliding across on his back. When he stopped, he let out a small groan before looking at Weiss to see if she was okay. "You alright, Weiss?" She was just staring at him with her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide. "Weiss? Weiss? Snow Angel?"

Weiss finally came back to reality at that and quickly got off of him, "I'm fine. Thank you for saving me, Jaune." She said with a small amount of genuine gratitude slipping in.

"Anytime." Jaune replied while getting up with a groan of pain. "Gonna be sore for a while." Weiss was about say something as everyone else ran up to him to check on him. They were all talking at the same time, except Ren and couldn't understand what they were saying. He finally whistled loudly to get everyone's attention. "I can't have six conversations at the same time guys." They heard a screeching and turned to see a massive Nevermore flying towards them before it released a barrage of feathers at them. Jaune reacted first. "Nora, explosives!" Nora pulled out Magnhild in its grenade launcher mode and fired several of her explosives into the air while Jaune swung Fukiri to release a wave of wind to send them into the feather. The giant pink explosion was all that was left of the feathers. Before anyone could breathe easy, they heard a giant crashing sound and saw the Death Stalker emerging from the forest where Jaune and Pyrrha came from. They all looked at Jaune and Pyrrha, "May have forgot about that one." Jaune said sheepishly.

Ruby quickly pulled out Crescent Rose, "I got this!" She charged it before anyone could stop her. She was knocked away by the Death Stalker before she got herself pinned by her cloak by another barrage of feathers. The Death Stalker went in for the kill as Weiss shot forward to stop its stinger with a wall of ice. They were okay, until the Death Stalker broke free and was about to finish both of them. Jaune switched Fukiri to his left hand and drew Raikiri. His eyes shifted yellow and shot forward in a blur of lightning. He got in between the girls and the Death Stalker before firing a massive arc of lightning at the Grimm, stunning it. His eyes shifted back to light green and sent a blast of wind to send it flying back. Jaune fell to his knee and was breathing raggedly as his eyes reverted back to blue. Ruby and Weiss were quickly by his side helping him to stand.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Ruby asked worried.

Jaune gave a tired chuckle. "Just overused my Semblance. Need a breather." He looked down at Raikiri. "That last arc used up the last of Raikiri's dust. Damn." He sheathed both his swords just as everyone gathered around them.

"Are you hurt, Jaune?!" Pyrrha asked also worried.

"Just need a second to breath, Pyrrha. I'll be fine." Jaune looked at the two Grimm getting ready to comeback for another attack. "We may wanna get outta here."

"He's right. We just need to get the relics and go. We have no reason to fight them." Ruby agreed with Jaune and Weiss nodded as well. Everyone else agreed, Ruby quickly picked up a relic and they all started to run towards the cliffs.

They got out of the forest and started running across another set of ruins. As they were running across, the Nevermore flew through the supports and the bridge started to collapse. Ruby, Yang, Weiss, Nora and Jaune made it to the other side of the ruins while Ren, Blake and Pyrrha were trapped on the other side with the Death Stalker. The other three started to open fire on the Nevermore and Nora and Jaune shared at look. Nora smashed the bridge and sending both of them into the air. At the height of their jump, Jaune applied pressure with his right thumb and drew his brown glowing sword and his eyes shifted brown. His body got heavier and he started falling faster. "Crush, Dokiri!" He slammed his sword onto the Death Stalker at the same time as Nora made contact which made a crater the size of the Death Stalker.

They both jumped back with the others and looked to see that Ruby and the others weren't faring well. The Death Stalker started to stir again, "Ren, Nora, Pyrrha, hold it off for a second." He plunged Dokiri into the ground and drew Kakiri and his eyes shifted to brown to red. He looked over at Blake and held out his hand to her. "Do you trust me?" She looked at his hand than back up at his eyes. She saw nothing but resolve and determination. She nodded and took his hand. He spun around once before throwing her to the other side with her partner. He quickly grabbed Dokiri and twisted the blade to send three huge rocks at the Nevermore from his side of the chasm. Blake used these to reposition herself and run on before one slammed into the Nevermore, only for the other two to slam into the cliff. Jaune sheathed Kakiri and pulled Dokiri from the ground and charged back to the Death Stalker.

The Death Stalker aimed its claw at Pyrrha, who deflected it with her shield. It than tried to go at her again with its other claw but Jaune was able to stop it with his forearm before both slashed at its face. Ren focused fire on its stinger and Nora fired more grenades at it. Pyrrha threw her javelin into its eyes as Jaune used Dokiri to bring up two rock pillars into its side. His caused it to knock Ren away and hit a tree.

"Ren!" Nora and Jaune shouted at the same time. Jaune noticed that the stinger is barely hanging on thanks to Ren. Jaune looked to Pyrrha and pointed to the stinger, "Pyrrha!"

She nodded, "Done!" she threw her shield and knocked the stinger off for it to impale the Grimm. He looked at Nora and she just smiled evilly. He crouched with his forearm over his head supporting his sword as Nora jumps onto it. Jaune jumped to send Nora into the air and as she was coming down to hammer the stinger through, Jaune sent a large rock under the Grimm. The result was the head of the Death Stalker being no more. Jaune was breathing raggedly as Nora landed beside him, not as winded, and Pyrrha reclaimed her weapon before Ren walked over in mild pain. They then all grinned and looked over to see Ruby decapitating the Nevermore. They were all in shock and awe. "Whoa." Is all Jaune could say. He turned to the others, only to be hit in the side by a giant Grimm fist. He started skidding across the ground before stopping right before the edge of the cliff. He looked up to see probably the worst thing that could happen right now.

A Beringel was standing between him and the others and was staring him down angrily.


	5. Worst Case Scenario

Jaune was standing after being hit across the clearing by the Beringel. He was glad he was still using earth energy or he'd be in a lot worse shape. But now he had to worry about this thing. They couldn't fight it and win, at least not without endanger the others. Nora was nearly out of explosives, Ren was still in pain and possibly injured and Pyrrha was exhausted. His eyes darted over to Ruby and the others. "And they're just as exhausted. Them backing us up would just put us all in danger." He stared back at the Grimm and came to a decision. He got into a stance with Dokiri and charged it and the Beringel followed suit. It was interrupted when it got hit in the back with the remainder of Nora's explosives. It turned around and screamed before charging at the others. Pyrrha and Ren started to open fire but it was shrugging off the bullets.

Jaune acted quickly by hitting Dokiri into the ground as he increased his speed with his aura. "Ren, Rock Blast!" he shouted as four rocks flew out of the ground. Ren used an aura palm strike on the rocks and sent them flying at the Grimm. The rocks hit it and slowed it down enough for Jaune to get between it and his friends. He sliced his sword against the ground towards it and a rock wave erupted towards it. It sent the Beringel flying back into a tree and before it could recover it, the rock wave smashed it through the same tree. Dokiri ran out of dust at that point and his eyes shifted back to blue. He sheathed Dokiri and turned to the three. "You guys need to meet up with the others and get up that cliff. I'll hold it off til then."

They all looked at him in shock and were going to protest before he gave them a glare. "No arguments. Every one of us is exhausted, but I'll be able to hold it off long enough for all of you to get out and then I can follow you with Fukiri." He handed Pyrrha their relic. "Don't worry, I'll meet you guys up there. Just go before it tries going after you guys again." They all looked at each other before Nora hugged Jaune.

"Please don't die, Jaune." She was shaking.

Jaune returned the hug and placed his forehead on the top of her head. "I won't. You've lost enough, you won't lose me. I swear it and an Arc never goes back on his word." They separated and Jaune gave a nod to Ren and a smile to Pyrrha. The Beringel started to get back up and Jaune turned around with newfound determination. He applied pressure with his right index fingers and the sheathes rotated to his right shoulder and the middle left blade's handle deployed. He unsheathed it and the circuits and edges glowed blue and his eyes shifted to a slightly darker shade of his usual blue. The two charged at each other, "Flood, Suikiri!" he shouted and water manifested on the blade as he fired compressed water blasts at the Grimm. The water exploded on the Grimm's bone armor which only made it angrier. When they were close enough, the Beringel leaped towards Jaune with a fist. Jaune was able to narrowly dodge the punch and was able to cut it across its ribs. When Jaune was directly behind it, he formed a water whip around the blade and whipped the Beringel on the back to keep its attention.

The Beringel lunged at Jaune and he was able to dodge at the last second. He was backpedaling while firing more water blasts at it, trying to find a weak point. Jaune stopped and stabbed Suikiri into the ground and sent water into it. The Beringel jumped in to the air to try and slam its arms into Jaune, and he once again dodged away at the very last second. The Beringel got its arms stuck in the thick mud that was made and Jaune took the opportunity to switch out Suikiri for Kakiri. As his eyes shifted to crimson he landed an upward slash across its back and flames cover its back. Jaune kept it up with a downward slash and more flames appeared. He screamed and with the last of Kakiri's dust, slashed horizontally across the back and the Beringel was engulfed in a ball of flames. Jaune was turning around to check on the others as the Beringel backhanded him through the flames. Jaune was sent back to the edge of the cliff and his rerebrace was sent flying into the chasm. He was getting up slowly and turned to see the Beringel already about to be on him. He sheathed Kakiri and closed his eyes. "I guess I'm not a true Arc. Couldn't keep my word."

Before he knew what was happening, Jaune heard gunshots and opened his eye to see Ruby flying in with Crescent Rose. The Beringel jumped back and Ruby landed in front of him. "You okay, Jaune?"

Jaune looked at her in disbelief, "What are you doing? You guys are supposed to be getting out of here! Ruby, why did you come back?!"

She didn't turn around. "I can't lose my first friend. I won't."

Jaune's eyes widened and Ruby took off. She was firing at the Beringel and when she was close, she slashed across it but only hit the bone armor. The Beringel was about to slam its fists down on top of her before she disappeared in a flurry of rose petals and was above it. She fired into the air and came down with Crescent Rose like a guillotine to finish the Grimm. But the Beringel moved and Crescent Rose got stuck in its shoulder. It screamed in pain and anger before punching Ruby, Crescent Rose tore through its shoulder and Ruby was sent flying. Ruby landed in a heap and the Beringel barreled down at her to finish her with one last punch.

Jaune applied pressure with his ring fingers, the sheathes on the left and right of the middle sheathe moved to his shoulders. The handles deployed and he drew Suikiri with his left as he drew Fukiri with his right, His left eye turned a slightly darker blue and his right eye shifted to light green. He shot off across the clearing with his aura. As he got in front of Ruby, he used Suikiri to draw all the water he summoned in front of them as a water shield and used Fukiri to form a wave of wind behind it. The two elements formed a pressurized water wall. The Beringel fist was slowed down but Jaune still took a hit to the chest. As he was pushed back, he pointed both blades at it and fired a pressurized water stream that sent it flying into the forest. Jaune coughed up some blood before he turned to Ruby. "You alright, Ruby?"

She stared at him. "Forget me! Are you?! You just coughed up blood!"

"I'm fine." He wiped the blood away and looked towards the ruins where he saw the others looking like they were coming to join them. "Forgive me, Ruby." He placed Fukiri in front of Ruby and sent her flying to the others with a blast of wind. "Nora, catch!" Nora immediately jumped up and caught Ruby before she landed with the others. While they were distracted he took off towards the forest.

As he entered he saw that the Beringel had smashed through a few trees and was getting up and staring angrily at Jaune. Jaune just stared it down. "I'm almost out of aura and nearly out of dust. This is going to be extremely risking and I may just end up killing myself. Nora may actually break my legs for this." He turned around and saw everyone was still at the ruins. "At least they aren't in range." He turned back to the Beringel and closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He focused on the two energies coexisting within his aura: the storming wind and the flooding water. Using his aura as a catalyst he started to fuse the two elements. As the fusion was completing, he heard the Beringel barreling down on him again. Jaune reflexively combined his swords together as the fusion was done. A flash of light blue was released from Jaune, which created a layer of ice on the ground around them and temporarily froze the Beringel in place.

* * *

The others just made it across the chasm as the felt a gust of ice cold air wash over them. They all stopped, Nora and Ren shared a wide eye look with each other.

"Did Jaune just use what I think he did?" Nora asked Ren worried.

Ren nodded, "I believe he did, Nora." Ren was equally worried but just didn't show it. Ruby and Pyrrha tried to run past them but were stopped when Ren placed his hand on Pyrrha's shoulder and Nora wrapped her arms around Ruby. They both started to yell at them while everyone stopped to see what was going on.

"We can't help Jaune anymore." Nora said very worried.

Everyone looked at her in confusion before Ren explained. "Jaune is using a very dangerous technique. It could kill him." Everyone was shocked and were about to run to help before he continued. "If we get involved, Jaune will worry about us more than the actual fight and that will get him killed." He looked at the direction Jaune went. "All we can do is believe in him now." Everyone looked out in the same direction and worried for their friend's life.

* * *

Jaune was standing in the middle of the frozen terrain. He still had his eyes closed but now Suikiri and Fukiri were now a double-edged longsword, with the circuits and edge now glowing a light blue. Jaune exhaled, his breathe a mist, and he opened his eyes. He was now staring at the Beringel breaking its legs out of the ice with his now light blue eyes. "Freeze, Hyokiri."

The Beringel was about to charge before Jaune swung his sword horizontally and four ice spears formed and fired off at the Beringel. Three of the spears impaled it in the upper arms and chest. The Beringel shouted and charged again, Jaune charged at it and slashed Hyokiri across the ground towards the Grimm. An ice wave erupted towards it and slammed into its chest, stopping it. It screamed again and smashed the ice. Jaune used this to run past it and slash across its ribs. He cut it and left a large chunk of ice. Jaune used the icy ground to slide behind and slash at the back of its knees to immobilize it. Jaune jumped over the Beringel, dragging his blade up its back and at the top of its opposite shoulder from the one that Ruby cut into, leaving thick ice in its wake. Jaune landed in front of it but with all the ice and wounds, it couldn't counterattack. Jaune screamed and stabbed it through the chest and started sending energy into it. The Beringel was about to cave his head in with its free arm before Jaune removed his sword and at that instant it was flash frozen. Jaune sent the last of his aura into his fist and shattered the Beringel.

Jaune looked down at the shattered Grimm before he sighed in relief before he split his longsword and returned the two swords to their respective sheathes. His eyes reverted to their usual blue before Jaune fell to his knees breathing raggedly. He was shaking like crazy and his teeth were clattering from the cold he subjected himself to. Before he knew it, he heard people shouting his name and when he turned around he was tackled by Nora and Ruby. They were both almost in tears and were constantly asking him if was okay until Ren and Yang pulled them off of him.

Pyrrha approached him, "Jaune, are you okay?!" She was just as worried as the others, maybe more so.

"I-I-I'm f-fine, Pyrrha." He stuttered and tried to stand before his shaking legs caused him to fall to his knees again. Everyone looked at him with concern and Ren stepped in front of him with a stern glare.

"You overdid it again, didn't you?"

Jaune chuckled nervously, "J-j-just a l-little bit. I-I'll be f-fine soon."

Ren knew better. "Last time you were like this you had slight hypothermia and almost had frostbite."

Everyone looked at him in a mix of worry and disbelief as Jaune tried to wave it off, "Y-your just e-e-e-e-exaggerating." They all stared at him before he lowered his head. "O-okay, I maybe in b-bad shape."

Ren sighed, "You're out of aura so you can't use your Semblance to heat up and we don't have enough aura to jump start your aura. We need to heat you up, fast."

Before anyone could react, Yang ran towards him and pulled him into a hug with Jaune's head on top of her breasts. Jaune flushed, "Y-y-yang!? W-what are y-you doing?"

"Considered it a thank you for saving my sister, twice." She said sincerely.

Jaune was still blushing, "I a-appreciate it, Y-yang but is this t-the r-right…" Jaune gasped as he felt a large amount of heat radiating from Yang. It felt so good considering he was freezing. He leaned into Yang and waited to get warm. Yang smirked at this and just held him. She felt his arms wrap around her back and pull her slightly closer to him. She would've thought he was trying to pull something if he was anyone else, but Jaune wasn't that kind of guy. He was trying to get warm. Although it did feel nice to have his arms around her. She felt safe. Soon he stopped shaking and he sighed before letting go of her. He looked at her and smiled. "Thank you, Yang. I feel a lot better now."

Yang smiled back at him. "No problem, Hero."

They stayed kneeling on the ground for a few more seconds, "Uh, Yang? You can let go now." Jaune said slightly confused.

Yang blushed slightly before she let go of him and stood quickly. "Right, sorry."

Jaune started to stand while Ren and Pyrrha got on either side of him to help him up. "Take it easy until your aura returns, Jaune" Ren told him. Jaune merely nodded. Ruby was quickly in front of him.

"Jaune, seriously. How did you do all of that!?" she looked like she was about to burst.

Jaune chuckled, "I'll explain it to all of you when we get back to Beacon. But let's get out of the Grimm infested forest." They all nodded and they started making their way back to the cliff and to finish their initiation.


	6. Semblance, Heartbreak & Nightmares

Jaune and the others were waiting to be called on stage and have their teams formed. They made it back up the cliffs with little issue and by now, Jaune's aura was high enough so that he didn't need Ren and Pyrrha to help him walk anymore, much to the disappointment of Pyrrha. He was nowhere close to being battle ready but it was better than nothing. Ozpin had just formed Team CRDL and they were leaving the stage as Jaune was going up. The leader, Cardin Winchester, gave him a look as they walked by each other. Jaune raised an eyebrow in question but then shrugged it off. As they were on stage Ozpin continued with the ceremony.

"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos and Lie Ren. You four retrieved the white rook pieces and from this day forward, shall be Team JNPR. Led by Jaune Arc."

"Wait, what?" Jaune asked in disbelief.

"Congratulations, young man." Ozpin said with a grin. Before Jaune could say anything, Pyrrha gently punched him on the shoulder with a smile and Nora pulled Ren and him into a bear hug. Pyrrha looked on with a small smile before Jaune wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into it. She was shocked but enjoyed it none the less. Afterwards they left as Ruby and the rest of their group went on stage. Jaune gave them a smile and waited to hear what was coming next.

"And finally, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long. You four retrieved the white knight pieces and from this day forward, shall be Team RWBY. Led by Ruby Rose." Ruby and Weiss were both shocked by this while Yang wrapped her sister in a hug.

Jaune smiled at his first friend at Beacon, before bringing his fingers to his lips and whistling. "Go Ruby!" She looked over to him and smiled nervously. At that point Ozpin dismissed all the first years, they were going to go to their dorms as Jaune was stretching. "Man, today was something else. I'm gonna sleep like a rock." He chuckled and looked to see everyone giving him a look. "Uh, what?"

Ruby just stared at him. "You said you'd tell us about your Semblance, Jaune."

Jaune looked at everyone and sighed, "Okay, okay. But let's go outside and enjoy the rest of the day." The rest agreed and went into the courtyard. Along the way, Pyrrha was noticing Jaune subconsciously rubbing his upper left arm.

"Are you okay, Jaune? You're rubbing your arm."

Jaune looked at her then at his arm before sighing. "Yeah. I'm fine Pyrrha. I just lost my rerebrace when the Beringel hit me. It was a gift from my teacher and it feels wrong that it's gone."

"Oh. Well, maybe your teacher will send you another?"

"Not likely." Jaune said sadly. Pyrrha was going to continue but noticed that Nora and Ren seemed a bit saddened by what he said. She decided to leave it alone for now.

They found a tree off by itself and all sat down around it. Jaune sat with Ren on his right and Pyrrha on his left. Nora sat beside Ren while Ruby and her team sat across from them. Jaune took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts. "Okay. Simply put, my Semblance allows me to absorb a small amount of an element and then manipulate it."

"Can you go into detail?" Ruby asked him looking a bit excited.

Jaune smiled and continued, "Sure. The way it works is that when I want to use an element, I absorb a certain amount of that elements energy. I then mix the energy into my aura and when that process is complete my eyes shift to a different color and I can manipulate the element. Also, I can only absorb the five basic elements: fire, water, wind, earth and lightning."

"So, you can just absorb energy from the earth? That's pretty badass." Yang smiled at him.

"Sorry but no. I can't absorb the literal elements energy. Their too…raw. The energy is too strong and unpredictable. If I tried that my body would tear itself apart." Everyone besides Nora and Ren were shocked but Jaune shrugged. "Maybe I'll be able to down the line but at this point I'm not ready for that. So, I used another method."

"Dust." Weiss said with confidence.

Jaune nodded to her. "Exactly. The energy in dust is more manageable for me to use. That's why each one of my swords use it. Although like you saw, I can still run out of dust. So, I need to be careful."

"So how did you do some of that other stuff? Like that disappearing thing and taking all those hits?" Ruby asked curiously.

Jaune thought for a second. "I don't think I should tell you. Can't give away all my secrets to another team." Ruby gave him some puppy dog eyes. It was the cutest thing Jaune has ever seen but it had little effect on him. "Ruby, I grew up with seven sisters and Nora." He jerked his thumb at her. "I'm immune to puppy dog eyes and pouts but I'll give you points since yours is by far the cutest." Ruby pouted and blushed slightly, Jaune chuckled. Everyone was shocked about the seven sisters thing but before anyone could ask anything, Jaune spoke up. "Do you wanna know about my Semblance or my sisters? Can't do both." He smirked and no one said a thing.

"Okay then. As I said earlier, my aura mixes the elemental energy into itself and because of that, my body gains a boost to a physical attribute of mine. But, there is a weakness to each one though."

"Like what?" Pyrrha was curious of any short comings of her partner.

"Well, when I absorb earth my body becomes heavier but because of that my durability goes way up. But the weight slows my movements down, as well."

"That's how you took those hits from the Death Stalker and Beringel with little protection. And why you didn't dodge the attacks." Jaune nodded. "What else can you do?" Pyrrha asked.

"When I absorb wind, my body becomes lighter and that increases my stamina but also decreases my durability. That one is better for quick attacks or keeping a distance."

"That's what you used to save us when we fell. Is that why you got hurt?" Weiss asked, she tried to sound professional but Jaune could hear the subtle guilt in her voice.

"Yup. It allowed me to reach you two in time because of my lessened weight and wind manipulation. But we were too close to the ground for me to slow us down. My aura absorbed most of the impact but because my durability was low, I got hurt a bit more than I usually do." He saw Weiss look guilty before he added with a shrug "But, it wasn't bad. Had worse in my training."

That made Weiss feel a bit better and then Ruby chimed in. "How did you get to Weiss and I when the Death Stalker attacked?" She asked, brimming with curiosity.

Jaune smiled. "Oh, that's what lightning does. My body becomes so charged with electricity that my speed goes off the charts. Although, due to the speed I'm moving at, I get a bit tunnel visioned." He chuckled. "Ran into a lot of things when I was learning to control it." Ruby smirked at that.

"And throwing me across that chasm?" Blake asked, saying something for the first time since the teams were made.

"That's what fire does. It increases my strength many times over but my body gives off such a high amount of heat that my stamina goes way down."

Yang looked at him with interest. "Huh, small world."

Jaune was curious but decided to continue with his explanation. "Finally is water, it allows my reflexes to go up. So I can dodge attacks at the last second and come out fine. That's what I used to stall the Beringel. The trade off is my strength goes down." He leaned back and looked up at the sky. "Aside from that, the only other weakness to my Semblance is if I switch between too many elements too quickly, my body will experience fatigue until my aura stabilizes again." He looked to everyone. "Any questions?"

Everyone was quiet for a second before Ruby thought of something. "Jaune?" He looked at her. "When you saved me from the Beringel, you had two different colored eyes, why?"

"Oh, that's because I was using two elements in conjunction." He said casually.

Pyrrha looked at him in shock, "You can do that?"

Jaune nodded. "Yup. Only do it when the situation is serious though." They all looked at him with a question but he beat them to it. "When I have an element mixed with my aura, it uses my aura at an accelerated rate. Nothing too serious considering my aura reserves but it's something I don't prefer to do. When I quickly switch between elements, I use my aura 1.5 times than I normally do with one element until it stabilizes. But when I use two in conjunction, each one of my eyes take on a color but my aura is used twice as fast. I also gain both the positive and negatives of using each of the elements so it can be risky at times."

Everyone nodded at that and was quiet until Blake brought up a point they were all curious about. "What about all that ice? How'd you do that?" they all looked at him expectantly. He sighed again and thought on how to explain it.

"You see ice is what I refer to as an 'advance' element. To use ice, I have to have both wind and water elemental energies inside me. Once that happens, I use my aura as a catalyst to fuse the two energies together. But when that happens my body has to release a decent size wave of energy of the new element to make sure I don't get overwhelmed. That's why I didn't use it until you guys were outside then blast radius." He breathed and took a second. "Because of that, along with the fact my aura is used 2.5 times faster than normal and my body has to deal with a few repercussions, I don't use it unless it's life or death."

Everyone was quiet again. "Why'd you do it?" Jaune looked back at Ruby. "We'd you fight that Grimm by yourself and why did you go so far to kill it?"

He didn't want to answer until he saw the worried looks he was getting from all of them. "I knew even if we all ganged up on it, we still wouldn't win. My plan was to hold it off until you guys were safe then retreat. But I miscalculated and got hurt and you stepped in, Ruby." He looked down. "When you got hurt…a part of me snapped. All I could think about was saving you and killing that Grimm. That's what happens when people I care about get hurt." He looked back up at her with a smile. She blushed and looked down. Yang saw this and that reminded her of something. She decided since he was answering questions that now would be a good time.

"Jaune, you said a relationship between you and Ruby wouldn't work and then told me practically the same thing when I was teasing you. Why is that?"

Jaune froze and everyone got quiet. Ren and Nora were looking at Jaune with concern while everyone else was looking at him with different levels of curiosity. Jaune didn't want to talk about this. Not at all. He was about to say that but something stopped him. Something inside of him wanted to get this out in the open and stop bottling it up.

He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "I didn't mean it the way most of you think. I'd be lucky to be in a relationship with Ruby or Yang. Or any of you for that matter." He looked down and missed the varying level of blush of each of the five girls. "But it's just that I…. can't." They were all stunned by that.

"What do you mean by that, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.

He didn't say anything, just kept looking at the ground in front of him. Ren placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay if you're not ready yet, Jaune. You don't have to push yourself."

Nora got up and knelt behind him and wrapped her arms around his upper torso in a comforting hug. "Totally. They'll all understand." They all looked at the three before looking at each other.

Jaune shook his head slightly before continuing. "It's okay. I can do this." The two of them nodded but didn't move, they were going to support him in this. He took a deep breath before speaking, still not looking up. "Our teacher took us with her wherever she went, she thought if we stayed in one place too long our training would become lax. Because of that, we couldn't form and long lasting friendships and romance was never an option. We didn't care because we always had each other." He placed a hand on top of Ren's and brought his other up to gently hold Nora's arm. "Every so often we'd return to our teacher's home village and everyone there knew us. It was our home. There was a girl there, our only friend outside the three of us. She was great." They could see a small smile on his face. "We were close and eventually our friendship turned to more. We were together even though we could hardly be together. But we somehow made it work. Eventually, we called it off on good terms because she was gonna set off on her own journey. But we promised we'd get back together when I became a Huntsman and her journey was complete." He went quiet for a little bit. "A few months before we came here, we went back to our home. I asked if anyone heard anything from her." He started shaking slightly, Nora held him a bit closer and Ren shifted closer to him. "They found out that when she left she was attacked by bandits and they could never find her body."

Everyone was looking in horror at him. None of them knew what to do or say.

Jaune took a shaky breath. "I know she's gone. But for some reason a small part of me holds onto the hope that she is okay. And that part of me won't let me grieve, to cry for her. I can't even fully accept that Amber is dead!" he nearly shouted the last part. He was still looking down with his eyes closed now and shaking badly. But no tears fell. He wanted the pain to stop. He didn't want to look up, to see the pity that he always sees.

He felt a hand placed on his shoulder. He slowly lifted his head and opened his eyes to see Ruby standing in front of him with teary eyes. Her eyes held no pity but they were eyes of someone that had felt similar pain. She knelt down in front of him and hugged him tightly, burying her head into his chest right below Nora's arms."I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Was all she said before she started crying.

Jaune was at a loss. And with little hesitation he held her close and put his head on top of hers. That's when the tears finally fell. The dam had broken and there was no stopping it. But he didn't want it to, all he could do was hold onto Ruby and cry. Nora had her head buried into Jaune's back and was also crying for her friend in pain. Ren was still next to Jaune, still there for him but he didn't cry, he had to be strong for the one that was always the strong one. The rest were just staring at Jaune. The guy that for the last day was always happy and in a fight was a natural born leader, strong and determined. None of them realized the pain he was in and now seeing him grieve and cry was so surreal. Finally, Pyrrha had enough, she scooted over next to him and wrapped her arms around his neck before she buried her head into his shoulder and cried her own tears for her partner. Yang soon followed suit and went to Jaune's other side. Ren got up and stood behind Nora to put his hands on her shoulder to comfort her as Yang sat down in his spot and wrapped Jaune, Nora and Ruby in a hug before she buried her face in his shoulder and cried as well. Weiss and Blake didn't know what to do, so they just decided to sit close in case they were needed.

They stayed like that until Jaune slowly stopped crying and started to calm down. Eventually he lifted his head and looked at all of them. "I'm sorry about that but thank you guys. I really needed that." He gave them a weak smile. They all just looked at him and gave him reassuring smiles.

Ruby then looked up at him. "We're friends Jaune, that's what we do." Jaune weakly chuckled at that and slowly everyone did as well.

When they all stopped, they untangled themselves and started heading to the dorms. They were soon pleasantly surprised to see that their rooms were next to each other. The two teams wished each other a good night before going into their rooms. Team JNPR than started unpacking and taking showers. Pyrrha had the last one before Jaune, as she was coming out he made his way in and noticed her hair was down. "You look good with your hair down." He mentioned to her. She blushed and he went and took his shower. He dried off and got dressed in his shorts and tank top. He then got out of the bathroom and they all decided to go to bed. Jaune was both physically and emotionally drained and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Jaune was then woken up a few hours later by someone lightly shaking him. He opened his eyes to see Nora standing beside his bed. He sat up and rubbed his eyes before whispering. "Nora, what's wrong?"

She looked down nervously before looking up at him. "I had that nightmare again." Nora had nightmares on occasion, on those occasions she usually would sleep with Ren. But this specific nightmare was a recurring one and Ren couldn't help her with it. Jaune nodded, he shifted over in his bed and held the blankets open for her. She got in and laid beside him and as soon as he covered her, she buried her head into his chest. He slowly started stroking her hair to calm her.

"It's okay, Nora. Ren and I are fine. We're still here."

She nodded weakly. "I know. But you really scared me today."

"I'm sorry for that. I made it out okay though, we all did. So, don't dwell on it. Can you do that, for me?"

She didn't say or do anything for a second before she nodded again. "Can I sleep here for the night?" She said without removing her head from his chest.

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Of course." She fell asleep almost immediately after that and Jaune soon followed her lead.


	7. First Day

Jaune was always an early riser and a morning person. More so, after training with his teacher. So, it was natural that he was the first one up out of his teammates. He looked over at them to make sure if they were asleep or not. Ren was dead asleep, normal, so much so most would have actually thought he was dead. Pyrrha was also out, but she was holding one of her pillows against her chest tightly. Jaune chuckled at how adorable it was to see the champion look like that. He looked around for Nora before he remembered what happened last night and looked down. Nora was holding onto him tightly and had her head laying on his chest. This is what he and more often Ren had to deal with when Nora had nightmares. He sighed and started the slow process of untangling Nora from himself while trying not to wake her. Jaune was too nice to do that. After ten minutes he was free and made his way to the bathroom and got dressed in his Beacon uniform. After he was done freshening up and fully dressed. He saw that Nora and Pyrrha were getting up. Nora was already sitting up still half asleep. Jaune walked over to her and started messing up her already disheveled hair.

"You feeling better, Nora?" Jaune asked with his usual smile.

Nora was trying to stop Jaune with little success. Nora was powerless when she first got up. She tiredly whined, "Jaune, stop. You're messing up my hair."

Jaune chuckled, "It's already a mess, Nora." He finally let her push his hand away and looked over to his partner who was looking like she got hit by a train, a stark contrast to the adorable way she looked while sleeping. He chuckled again. It was fun to be the only morning person in the group. "Morning, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha slowly looked over at him and groggily said, "Morning." with a yawn. She was about to flop onto her bed again before Jaune put his arm under her to stop her. She looked to see what had stopped her from going back to sleep and saw her partner looking down at her with his usual endearing smile. After about a minute of staying like that, her tired mind connected the dots and her eyes snapped open wide along with a blush. She quickly tried to jump out of her bed and away from Jaune but her leg was tangled in her bed sheet. She would've gone head first into the floor if Jaune hadn't caught her. She looked up at him again when she realized she was in his arms and her blush deepened.

Jaune sighed at his partner before he gently put her back on her bed. "Let's save you from your bed before you try that again." He said with a small smile. She bashfully nodded while he went to work freeing her. When he was done she gave him a quiet 'Thank you' before he just looked at her. "No problem." He motioned to the bathroom. "It's free if you want it. Nora and Ren are still out." She nodded and quickly made her way to the bathroom. She stopped as she saw Nora still sitting on his bed.

"Jaune, why is Nora in your bed?" she asked.

He turned back to her, "Oh, Nora gets some intense nightmares on occasions. She usually asks to sleep with Ren or I when that happens." Jaune than rubbed the back of his head nervously. "My little fight with the Beringel really freaked her out." He said guiltily.

Pyrrha nodded before smiling. "You're a nice guy, Jaune."

He smiled before Nora interrupted them, gaining some of her usual energy. "That's our Fearless Leader!" The two laughed at that before Pyrrha retreated into the bathroom. Jaune started to gather his books he'd need for the day. He heard a strange creaking sound and turned to see Nora flying through the air after jumping off of his bed. She was flying right towards Ren's bed. "Ren!" she shouted before she landed on him and the two toppled off the bed.

Jaune sighed again than smiled, thinking 'She's back to normal alright.'

Ren slowly got up from the floor and looked at Jaune. They stared at each other for a minute before Ren spoke, "Why?"

Jaune shrugged, "She was already in the air and more than halfway to you. There was no stopping her at that point and if I tried I'd be on the floor with you two."

Ren accepted the truth and sighed before Nora jumped back to her feet. She started rambling about how excited she was, Ren just listening stoically and Jaune was listening while gathering the rest of his things. Pyrrha came out of the bathroom in her uniform and saw the three interacting and smiled sadly. Jaune noticed this. "Pyrrha, what's up?"

She quickly put her polite smile on, "Nothing, Jaune."

Jaune raised an eyebrow at her, "Really?" He kept looking at her. She looked away but when she turned back he was still giving her that same look. She finally relented.

"I'm just feeling a little… left out is all."

"Why?" Jaune asked in shock and curiosity.

She was nervously rubbing her one arm. "Well, you three have known each other for a while and now I just come out of nowhere. I just feel like I'm intruding." she said sadly.

Jaune was about to deny that before Nora bolted across the room and stopped in front of her and clearing in her personal space. "That's silly." she plainly said.

Pyrrha was slightly taken back. "What?"

"You're part of our team now, that makes you a part of our family. No excuses." To emphasize her point, she hugged her close.

She just looked down at Nora and then at her two other teammates, who were now standing next to each other. Jaune had his arm on Ren's shoulder with a grin. "I told you before Pyr, we aren't just friends. We're a family. When you became my partner, you became a part of this family. Hope you're okay with that because you're stuck with us now." He smiled widely and Ren gave her a nod and a reassuring grin.

She then looked at Nora still holding her, she smiled warmly and returned the hug. "That sounds perfect."

"Yeah! I finally get a sister!" They all shared a laugh after that.

Shortly after that, they all got done getting ready for their first day and were making their way to the cafeteria. Jaune stopped when he heard what sounded like power tools coming from RWBY's dorm. His curiosity won out, "You guys go on. I need to check on something." They nodded and carried on. Jaune went to the door and knocked politely on said door. The sound stopped and a couple seconds later, the door was opened up by Ruby, who smiled warmly at him.

"Hey Jaune, what's up?"

"Not much. I heard a racket coming from your girl's room and was concerned. Everything okay?"

She nodded, "Yup. We were just setting up our bunk beds." She said cheerfully.

"Bunk beds?" She stepped aside so Jaune could see their handy work. He was not liking what he saw. Seeing the beds being held up by books and ropes was not a reassuring sight. "That can't be safe. Like at all."

Yang quickly came into the conversation. "Nah, it's fine. They turned out awesome." She grinned.

"Uh huh." Jaune was unconvinced. He looked back at the suspended bed. "Who is the unfortunate one sleeping under that?" he motioned to it.

He heard an annoyed huff before Weiss spoke, "That would be me."

He looked at her for a second before bowing his head. "It was an honor to know you." he said jokingly.

She just gave him a glare before she shouted, "Hey!"

He smirked as he raised his head, "Than you'll really be a Snow Angel." She blushed and looked away with another huff. He chuckled a bit and so did Yang and Ruby. "But seriously, why don't you girls just request some actual bunk beds. I doubt Professor Ozpin would mind. Considering its that or these." he motioned to the beds again. No one said a thing. "You girls didn't think of that did you?" All four of them were avoiding his gaze. He started to laugh. "Anyways, my team is already heading to the cafeteria before class. Wanna tag along?" They all agreed and started to make their way there.

About halfway there Yang grabbed him by the arm and stopped him. "Mind hanging back for a second?"

He nodded, "Sure."

Once the rest of her team was out of earshot she started to talk. She pulled her hair over shoulder and started playing with it. "I wanted to apologize to you, Jaune."

Jaune raised an eyebrow, "For what?"

She was looking down now, "I asked you something I shouldn't have and made you bring up some painful memories. I shouldn't have done that and I feel really bad about it."

Jaune just looked at her. "Yang, it's fine."

"No, it's not!" she nearly yelled and looked up at him eyes red. "I can understand how you felt and I know how painful that can be. We felt the same when we lost…" Yang stopped and looked down again.

Jaune reached over and rested her hand on her shoulder. Yang looked him in the eye and saw only forgiveness. "Yang, it's fine. I've had all that bottled up for a long time now. I refused to speak about it until yesterday. But talking helped me move forward, even if it's just a little bit. Made me remember that Amber wouldn't want me suffering like that. So if anything, I should thank you for helping me onto the right path. So, thank you, Yang" he gave her a warm smile.

She just stared at him for a second before she gave him a grin, "Kinda hard to feel bad when you smile like that." He chuckled for a bit before she continued. "I know how you can thank me later though." She smirked.

"I'm all ears." He was still smiling.

"When you're ready to move on, you have to promise to give me a fair shot." she gave him a teasing smile as she said that.

Jaune was stunned for a second and blushed before he grinned, "I would consider it an honor." Trying to return he teasing.

She blushed slightly from his words and her realization that she was half serious about that. She quickly punched Jaune in the shoulder to divert attention. "Don't go falling for me yet, Hero." she teased.

"Ow! Oum Yang, that hurt." He was rubbing his arm trying to regain feeling in it.

"Come on, you saying I hit harder than that Death Stalker or Beringel? Stop being a baby."

"I'm not using my Semblance and I've seen what your punches can do. So, excuse me for not being indestructible." They met up with their teams and had their breakfast before they headed to their first class, Grimm Studies. Jaune was excited for this class. He'd been fighting Grimm for years with Ren and Nora. He wasn't an expert but he was looking forward to learning more about the creatures and probably doing fairly well from all his experiences so far.

The excitement went away when Professor Port started to ramble on and on about himself. Jaune tried to pay attention and learn but it was a losing battle and he eventually started to tune out. He looked at his team to see how they were fairing. Nora was fully engrossed in the story but that made sense considering it was Nora. Ren was looking like he was paying attention but Jaune could tell he was meditating and focusing on his aura. Pyrrha was actually trying to take notes, had to give her credit for that. He then looked down to Team RWBY sitting in front of him. Yang was on her scroll, Blake looked like she was about to nod off, Weiss was paying attention and Ruby was just as bored as him. She was making a poor drawing of the Professor. He had to smile at her antics, although Weiss didn't agree with him on that. She looked like she was getting angrier by the second. He was worried until he tuned back into Professor Port's rambling.

"A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise! So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Weiss raised her hand and nearly shouted, "I do, sir!"

"Excellent, Miss Schnee!" he boomed "Now usually I would take that as a volunteer but today I will call on someone who showed remarkable skill in slaying Grimm during initiation!"

Weiss seemed deflated at that and everyone was curious who this someone was. Before Professor Port pointed directly to that person. "Are you ready, Mr. Arc!"

Jaune jumped at that and everyone turned to look at him. "I guess, sir. But I'm not that skilled though." He tried to defuse this situation before it was too late.

Professor Port merely laughed, "You show modesty, my boy! Not many first years can take out seven Beowolves along with an Alpha, figure out an ingenious plan for taking down a Death Stalker and then take down a Beringel, nearly single handedly!"

At that point everyone was either staring at him or discussing what they heard with each other. Jaune promptly slammed his head on his desk and sighed tiredly. He muttered to himself, "Should've kept my big mouth shut." Jaune knew rumors would spread now and he was never one for the limelight. He called his aura to calm himself, causing his body to faintly glow white but only his team and RWBY noticed, before he stood up and looked at the professor with a determined look. "You got it, sir."


	8. Lessons Outside the Classroom

Jaune quickly went to get his gear and swords. On his way back, he was just focusing on what to do. 'Okay, everyone in class heard what I did, but they don't know for sure what I did. If I keep my Semblance on the low people won't know my full capabilities. Even though, I still don't know my full capabilities. I'm fine with my team and RWBY knowing but not everyone else. Keep the fancy moves to a minimal and I'll be fine.' Jaune finished his monologue has he was back in the center of the class getting ready.

"Are you ready, Mr. Arc?!" Professor Port said and Jaune nodded in response. "Well than step forward and face your opponent." He gestured to the cage. Jaune got in his stance but before he drew his sword he heard his friends.

"Show them what you got, Fearless Leader!" Nora shouted.

"Kick some butt, Hero!" Yang joined in.

"Yeah, show what the Leader of Team JNPR can do!" Ruby added.

Jaune smiled at them before Weiss hissed at her. "Ruby, you're distracting him!"

She looked down sheepishly, 'What's up with that?' he thought before he shelved the thought for later and he applied pressure with his right index finger, drawing Suikiri in a fluid motion as his eyes shifted to the slightly darker blue.

"Alright! Let the match begin!" Port shouted before he slammed his axe onto the lock and releasing the Boarbatusk. It charged at Jaune immediately, after his shock Jaune was able to sidestep at the last minute and slash across the side of it.

"Ha-Ha, quick on your feet we see!"

Jaune quickly charged at it as water enveloped the blade and was planning to release a pressurized shot at close range. Ruby was cheering again and Weiss was continuing to shush her. Jaune caught that in the corner of his eye and glanced over. That was a mistake, with him distracted he got his sword stuck in the Boarbatusk's tusk. He started to struggle but his strength was way below his normal levels by having his aura mixed with water. Without much choice, he angled his blade to the ground and shot the water. The water explosion sent the Boarbatusk flying but with his sword still stuck.

"Oh, now what will you do without your weapon?" Jaune was about to draw Raikiri to electrocute the already soaked Grimm.

"Jaune! Its belly!" Ruby shouted.

"Ruby! Enough!" Weiss shouted back.

Jaune looked over again. 'What the hell is up with Weiss?' he thought and saw the Boarbatusk already halfway to him. "Enough of this!" Jaune shouted in frustration of the fight and whatever was going on with Ruby and Weiss. He slammed his fist on the ground and as the Boarbatusk was over the puddle he made with Suikiri, the water pressurized again and shot up into the belly of the beast. The shot had so much force behind it, the Grimm was lifted off the ground before it tore completely through it. Suikiri came free and stuck into the floor. Jaune sighed and picked up Suikiri before sheathing it. He looked to see everyone shocked at what he did, besides Nora and Ren. He sighed again. 'Not the flashiest thing I've done but still over the top.'

Jaune was then smacked on the back by Port with him laughing, "Well done, my boy! You're just as deadly without your weapon." He smiled at him

Jaune bowed his head slightly, "Thank you, Professor."

He then turned to the rest of the class, "With that class is dismissed! Enjoy the rest of your day. Mr. Arc, can you stay back for a minute?"

Jaune nodded again before he looked to his team and signaled them to go on without him. As they did, Jaune turned back to the Professor sitting at his desk. "Now, Mr. Arc, I've seen what you can do and this latest fight of yours has me curious. Why did you not use the sword that allows you to move at a heightened speed? You could've easily finished that Grimm."

Jaune sighed before he scratched the back of his head. "To be honest, Professor, I don't like being in the limelight. I wanna be a Huntsman to help people but the fame is something I just don't care about. If I were to show off my abilities to everyone then they would either gush over me or see me as someone to win against. I'm fine with my team and Team RWBY knowing but I'd prefer if everyone else had as little info on me as possible right now. That's why I went for my…. 'weakest' sword."

Professor Port nodded his head slightly, "I see your reasoning and respect it. I would like to offer my apologies for forcing you to demonstrate your abilities without knowing your stance on things."

Jaune had his hands up and was shaking his head, "No, no, its fine, sir. I play things close to my chest so you had no way of knowing."

"Alright, then. Why don't you go on with your day?"

"Thank you, sir." Jaune gathered his things and went to go meet the rest of his team. As he was walking he heard what sounded like people arguing and was about to give them privacy, until he recognized one of the voices.

"You've done nothing to earn your position! Back in the forest, you acted like a child and you've continued to do so!" Weiss shouted at someone and when he heard the second person, he started to get angry.

"Weiss, where is this coming from? What happened to all the talk about 'working together'? I thought you believed in acting as a team." Said Ruby very sadly.

"Not a team led by you. I've studied and trained. And quite frankly, I deserve better." There was a pause and Jaune came around the corner to put Weiss in her place for hurting Ruby. Until he saw Weiss had her back to Ruby with her reaching her hand to her. "Ozpin made a mistake." Ruby dropped her hand and started shaking slightly as Weiss walked away. Jaune walked over to Ruby and wrapped an arm around Ruby in a sideways hug. She looked up at him and she looked like she was about to cry.

"Is she right? Did Ozpin make a mistake?" she asked in a shaky voice.

Jaune pulled her closer to comfort her. "No, Ruby. He didn't."

She started to look down, "How do you know?"

"Let me ask you this. Did Ozpin make a mistake making me a leader?"

She looked up at him in shock. "No, of course not! Jaune, your strong, smart and brave! You're a great leader!"

Jaune chuckled a little. "Thank you, Ruby. But if that's true than you're also a great leader because you have those exact qualities." She looked at him in shock. "The way you use Crescent Rose to the proficiency you do shows just how much you've trained and how strong you are. You came up with a strategy just as good as anything I could to deal with that Nevermore. And finally, you stepped in to save me from that Beringel without a second of hesitation. Ruby, if that doesn't prove that you are a great leader or have the potential of a great leader, then what does?"

She looked down with a small smile before she started to hug Jaune back, "So, why doesn't Weiss see it that way." She asked sadly.

"I don't know, Ruby. Maybe she's just jealous or it's something else." Ruby was still looking down. He got an idea and gently bumped her to get her attention. When she looked up, he was smiling. "Why don't you prove her wrong? She thinks you're not good enough to be leader, well why don't you show her just how great of a leader you can be."

She stared at him wide eyed, he could see she was considering it before she lowered her head again. "What if I can't?"

Jaune gently placed his fingers below her chin and raised her head to look at him in the eyes. "You can. And you got Blake and Yang to support you the entire way. Along with me." He smiled brightly at her.

It took a second before she smiled back. "I'll do it! Thank you, Jaune, I needed that."

"No problem. A very smart person told me that's what friends do."

She blushed at the off handed compliment and the two started to laugh. "But seriously, Ruby, I'm here for you. If the whole leader role gets to be too much, come to me. We're kinda in the same boat."

She nodded and gave him another hug before she stepped back. "Same goes for you, Jaune." He answered with a nod and his smile. She smiled back and turned away slightly with a blush. "For a second there, I thought you were going to kiss me."

"Are you disappointed?" He smirked at her. Ruby looked at him and realized he was pulling a Yang. She gave him a glare. "Of course not, I know you wouldn't do that." She than added very quietly, "Too bad though."

Jaune raised an eyebrow, "So you have me figured out already?"

She looked at him, "Yup!"

"Really?" Jaune decided to prove her wrong. He put his fingers under her chin and raised her head. And when she was looking into his eyes he gently kissed her on the forehead. When he pulled back, her eyes were wide and she was blushing. Jaune gave a small laugh. "Can't let you figure me out completely." He smiled at her and she was still stunned. "I'll see you later, Ruby. Got something to do." He slowly walked away to find a certain heiress as Ruby was trying to figure out what just happened.

* * *

Jaune looked everywhere for Weiss, he eventually found her on a balcony staring out at the sunset. He made his way over to her and she turned to see who it was before she turned back. He stood beside her watching the sunset until Weiss spoke, "What do you want?"

"To talk. Especially about your attitude to a friend of mine." Jaune said with a slight edge.

She looked at him in disbelief, "You were eavesdropping?!"

"It's not eavesdropping when you're shouting loud enough to be heard down the hall." She scoffed at that and turned back to the sunset. "You were completely out of line."

She whirled around on him, "Excuse me?!"

He looked at her with a stare. "You. Were. Out. Of. Line." He said slowly, "Understand it that time?"

"How dare you!" she shouted.

"How dare I? What about you?! You told Ruby she has done nothing to earn he role as leader! I think coming up with a strategy to take out that Nevermore and risking her life to save mine are two things! And it's been ONE day since teams were formed, a bit early to judge anyone!"

Weiss was taken back by Jaune's sudden anger but she quickly tried to fight back, "She shouldn't even be here! She's only fifteen!"

"That just shows how skilled she is! But you don't wanna see or accept that fact! Get over yourself!"

Weiss scoffed, "Who are you to judge me, huh!? You think you're somehow better than the rest of us!? Well, let me tell you…" she stopped as she felt a pressure all around her and looked to see Jaune's aura acting up, looking like a white inferno around him.

He gave her an even glare before his aura calmed down. "I think my breakdown yesterday proved I'm nowhere close to being better than anyone." He said quietly before looking back at the sunset.

Weiss realized she crossed a line and looked down. She slowly turned to the sunset and the two of them were in silence before she got the courage to speak again in a weak voice. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

Without turning to her, he nodded. "It's fine. I said a few things I shouldn't've either."

They were in silence again before she sighed, "You probably won't like to hear this or agree with me. But I feel like I should be leader."

The silence stretched for a minute before Jaune spoke again. "You don't want the responsibility." She looked at him in confusion as he continued. "Circumstances happened. Ren, Nora and I had to figure things out on our own. Even with my teacher around, those two always looked to me as a leader. Their wellbeing, their safety. They were everything I thought about. The overwhelming pressure that comes with that mantle is painful." He finally turned back to Weiss. "It can break most people."

"Then why would Ozpin pick Ruby? Why not someone more prepared and ready?" she asked confused.

Jaune chuckled slightly. "I asked my teacher something similar. She told me, 'A good leader knows how to lead on their own. But a great leader knows how to lead with their followers.'" Weiss looked confused. "A good leader will eventually break. But a great leader will rely on the people that follow them. They will listen to their advice, accept their help and learn along with them. That forms a bond that helps all involved." He looked back at the sunset. "At least that's what I believe." Weiss was again shocked and said nothing. "Ruby is gonna lead her team but she will need her team to help move forward. You'll need to lean on each other to be the best team possible."

Weiss finally gained her voice, "You believe that? Honestly?" She said it not with a condescending tone but one of pure curiosity.

Jaune nodded. "That's why my teamwork with Nora and Ren is so good. We rely and trust in each other. And because of that, my team is my family." He turned back to Weiss. "You may not be the leader but your team will need you all the same." He gave her a small smile before he started to walk away.

When he was almost inside she asked him a question. "Why are you doing it? What do you get out of this?"

Jaune thought for a second and responded genuinely, "Nothing. My friends were hurting and I wanted to help them."

"We're friends?" she asked in shock.

"I like to think so, but if you don't that's fine. I know I can be a bit…much." He joked

She gave him a small smile, "You can but that's not bad." She looked down before looking back at him. "Thank you, Jaune."

He smiled, "Anytime, Snow Angel." With that he started to return to his dorm. Before that, he decided to stop by the kitchens to make something special for a certain red reaper. When he made it to his dorm room, he knocked on Team RWBY's door. After a minute Yang answered it, dressed in her pajamas. "Hey, Yang, is Ruby here?"

She nodded before saying, "Yup but she's not accepting visitors." Jaune gave a confused look and Yang jerked her thumb to the suspended bed. "She's been in her bed studying since she got back. Don't know what's gotten into her."

Jaune gave a knowing smile before he continued, "Okay. Well, can you give this to her. She was down earlier and thought this would help." He held up a paper bag and was about to hand it to Yang when a flurry of rose petals snagged it from him. Standing between them was Ruby looking into the bag.

"Cookies!" she shouted in joy.

Jaune smiled at her. "Yup. Two dozen homemade chocolate chip cookies. Thought you could use them."

"Thank you." She took one out and bit into it. She froze instantly. They both stared at her and Yang waved her hand in front of her face. "You made these, Jaune?"

"Um, yes? Why, did I screw them up?" he asked nervously.

She slowly shook her head while staring at him. "These are the best cookies ever!"

Jaune chuckled, "Good to hear. I'll make more for you if you'd like."

Before he could figure out what was happening, Ruby had jumped onto him and tightly wrapped her arms around his neck and legs around his waist, "Please do! They're so good!" Jaune just nodded after he recovered from his shock. Ruby then tightened her grip and buried her head into his neck while shouting. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Yang chimed in with that, "Ruby, you may wanna let go. Jaune needs air."

Ruby looked at Jaune and he was blue and about to tip over. She dropped to the floor and held onto his hands so he didn't fall over. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine, Ruby. Nora has done it before." He smiled and Ruby returned it. She than remembered what had happened earlier and blushed before she disappeared in her room again.

Yang looked at Ruby on her bed then back at Jaune. "What's that about?" she asked.

Jaune just shrugged and wished her a good night before going to his dorm to call it a night. His last thought before falling asleep was hoping those two would be alright now.


	9. Sibling Fighting

The morning was going just as the previous one did, Jaune was up first followed by Pyrrha and Nora, who then woke up Ren although without flying across the room. Jaune was getting his supplies ready when Pyrrha came up to him.

"So, Jaune, what happened yesterday? You stayed behind after Grimm Studies and then didn't come back to the dorm until late. Did something happen?" she asked.

Jaune thought for a second. "Well, Professor Port wanted to know why I didn't fight that Grimm seriously and I told him my reason-"

"You mean the whole hating being the center of attention thing?!" Nora chimed in from the bathroom.

"Yes, Nora, thank you for that. After that I ran into a couple of friends, who were in an argument and decided to help the two out. I don't know how much I did but hopefully, it worked out." He gave Pyrrha a smile and she returned it.

"That's very nice of you, Jaune. Mind if I ask why you dislike being the center of attention?" Jaune was going to answer when Nora came out of the bathroom in her uniform.

"Jaune's always been like that. Our teacher hates the spotlight as well and Jaune looks up to her. Wants to be exactly like her and picked up a lot of qualities from her." She chuckled a bit before continuing. "He even had a small crush on her for a little while. It was so cute! You should have seen the time he…" she was stopped when Ren put a hand over her mouth after Jaune gave him a 'Please stop her' look.

Jaune sighed and was blushing. "Thank you for the save, Ren." Ren nodded before Jaune turned back to Pyrhha. "Yeah, there's that and when people see my Semblance I get a lot of attention, both good and bad." He shrugged "Besides, I wanna be a Huntsman to help people and kill Grimm. The rest is kinda part of it, a part I don't fully like, but accept."

Pyrrha placed a hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes, "I understand, Jaune. The spotlight can be a bit…overwhelming. I've had to deal with a lot during my time and know a bit of that. But, if you ever need someone to lean on, well…." She stopped, not sure on how to continued and looked away slightly.

She looked back up when she felt Jaune's hand on hers and saw him smiling. "Thanks, Pyrrha. I knew I got the best partner." She smiled and blushed slightly at that. Then Jaune smirked before continuing, "Although, you throwing Milo at me wasn't the best idea."

She blushed a bit deeper before she hit him in the shoulder lightly. "Will you let that go already?"

"I did let it go. That's how you got it back when I came in to save you." He had a teasing grin on his face and Pyrrha was about to reply when Nora ran over to them and wrapped her in a hug before sending a slight glare at Jaune.

"Jaune, stop teasing Pyrrha! That's no way to treat my new sister!"

Jaune leaned over to look at her in the eyes, still with a grin on his face, "That mean you're telling me to tease you than, Little Sis?"

Her eyes widened before the glare was back. "Do you want me to break your legs?"

The two were glaring at each other, Pyrrha was looking between the two not sure what to do and Ren was getting his things. Eventually the two started laughing at each other, Nora booped Jaune on the nose and Jaune patted Nora on the head. "Alright, let's get moving. We still need to grab breakfast before class." He held the door open for his team and Nora ran out shouting 'Pancakes!' with Ren going after her. Pyrrha followed before he shut the door behind them and they walked with each other. They heard what sounded like raised voices from RWBY's dorm but opted to let them deal with it.

"Hey, Jaune, why do you call Nora your little sister?"

He chuckled a bit. "Because she's shorter than me. She's slightly annoyed by it but she knows I say it with love. She just acts like she hates it but she loves the nickname."

"Is it similar when she calls you Fearless Leader?"

He grinned. "Maybe."

That's when they heard a shout then the door to RWBY's dorm busted open. They turned around to see Yang run out and look up and down the hall. She stopped when her eyes land on Jaune and Pyrrha. Her Ember Celica encased her arms and she started to run down the hall. "ARC!"

Jaune didn't know what led to this but he didn't care. He ran down the hall as quickly as he could. As he rounded the corner he saw an angry Yang run past a stunned Pyrhha. Jaune kept running to get out of the dorms and into the courtyard as quickly as he could. Yang the whole time was on his heels shouting at him to stop. When Jaune got out into the courtyard and ran a decent distance from the school before he decided to turn. He slid on the grass slightly as he turned around and in a rudimentary fighting stance. "Yang, calm down! What the hell did I do!?"

Yang stopped a few feet away, her eyes still red. "Don't play dumb, Arc! I know you took advantage of my little sister!"

"What!? I didn't do any-" He tried to explain but Yang cut him off.

"She told me you kissed her!"

"Yeah I did but-" Again she cut him off.

"So you admit it!" She shot off at him with a punch. Jaune was able to divert her punch with his forearm but could still feel the wind come off her fist. He quickly spun and jumped back from her. She came at him again but this time with a devastating combo. He was able to either divert or dodge most of them until he caught her last punch in the stomach and dropped to the ground. She was about to axe kick him but he reflexively swept her leg out from under her. As she fell, Jaune got up and on top of her trying to hold her down.

"Yang, calm down, let me expla-" he was cut off when she headbutt him followed by throwing him across the courtyard. Jaune was able to flip and land on his feet using his aura to slow himself down. His feet were causing trenches to form and before he was completely stopped, he looked to see Yang on her feet and fired three shots at him. Jaune crossed his arm in front of him before they reached him. The resulting explosion kicked up a lot of dust and smoke.

Yang looked at the smoke and dust before shouting, "You dead yet?!"

As a response the dust and smoke was blown away instantly. Jaune was standing there slightly burned with his aura flaring wildly, but instead of the usual white it was crimson red along with his eyes. Jaune popped his neck before saying, "Not even close and I'm so glad you use fire dust." He dropped back into his fighting stance and she did the same.

"Done trying to talk your way out of this?"

"No, just gonna do that afterwards. Since you refuse to listen."

They both stared at each other before the took off at each other at the same time. Yang using a discharge from Ember Celica and Jaune using his aura. Their fists connected and caused a shockwave. Yang looked on in shock before Jaune used her shock to kick her in the stomach before following up with a left cross. She was able to bring up her guard so that she only went flying. When she landed, Jaune was already on his way after her, using his aura. She reflexively fired off another shot and she regretted it when Jaune quickly absorbed it. Jaune went for a right jab but Yang dodged it, grabbed his arm and threw him over her shoulder. Jaune was able to land on his feet but got hit in the face by her other fist, he was wondering if she somehow got slightly stronger than before. Jaune spun and connected his right elbow into her back. She stumbled forward slightly and turned just in time for Jaune to connect with a roundhouse kick. She was sent flying again and as soon as Jaune's other foot touched the ground, he fired off after her with his aura. Yang was in the middle of correcting herself when Jaune connected with his right arm in a lariat. Yang was sent further back and landed in a crater.

Jaune was trying to catch his breath and was wondering if he went too far. Until an explosion of fire and aura erupted from the crater with Yang standing in the middle of it, her hair glowing now. "Well, that isn't good. Guess that's your Semblance?"

Yang slammed her fists together and the aura dissipated. "Yup."

"Well great." He sighed and got back into his fighting stance. There was another slight pause before Yang charged at him. Jaune tried for an uppercut but missed and Yang landed a fist into his chest. He was sent flying away again and that one hurt significantly more. 'Yeah, she's definitely stronger.' He landed in a crater and slowly stood back up. Yang was charging at him again. "I hope this works or I'm dead." He had his hands at his sides with his fingers curved in. He started to focus his fire infused aura into his palms, superheating the air until he had two fire balls in his hands. When Yang was close enough to him, he brought his hands up and released the fire into two streams directly at her. Her eyes widened in shock and she dived to the side to avoid that, using a barrel roll to get back onto her feet. She had no time to react when Jaune shot forward with aura and infused a large amount of aura into his right knee, connecting it with her chin. She landed in a heap and Jaune was doubled over, out of breath. His stamina was almost gone due to his fire infused aura and he has been heavily using it to keep even with Yang.

They both stood up and looked into each other's red eyes, they silently agreed to end this. They got back into their stances and waited. Five seconds later, they both shot off one last time. They both put their remaining strength behind their punches and their fists met again. The two forces created a huge shockwave and a noticeable crater that kicked up a lot of dust. As it settled, the two were still standing there, fists still connected. Both were breathing heavy and barely standing. They just kept staring into each other eyes, they slowly shifted back to lilac and blue. They both fell and landed at the same time. On their backs, next to each other and looking up at the sky. They were both trying to catch their breath before Jaune snickered slightly before he started to laugh. Yang turned her head to look at him in confusion.

"What is wrong with us? We could've settled this with five minutes of talking, had breakfast and gone to class. Instead, we fought for ten minutes, all but missed breakfast and still have classes." He started laughing again and this time Yang joined him. They laughed for a few minutes until they calmed down and laid in silence. "So, wanna talk now?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah. Answer me honestly." She turned back to him. "Did you kiss Ruby?"

Jaune nodded. "I did." He turned to her before continuing. "But on the forehead."

The rest of her anger vanished at that. "Oh, that's not nearly as bad. But why?"

"Ruby was kinda stressed with leader stuff. I gave her some advice and told her she could talk to me about it if it got too much for her. It seemed to help her and to try to get her back to her normal self, I teased her with that kiss." He groaned in slight pain. "May not have been worth it though."

Yang looked away before continuing, "I'm sorry about that. When I heard you…"

Jaune cut her off by trying to wave her apology away. "I understand, Yang. You were protecting your sister. I have seven myself, remember? I would've probably done the same thing in your place."

"I still feel bad though."

"How about if there's another misunderstanding between me and Ruby, get all the details before you try to kill me?" he smirked at her.

She gave him a small smile, "That sounds fair. Although that was one of the best fights I've had. Where'd you learn all that?"

"My teacher taught me the basics of hand-to-hand and traveling around I added a few moves I saw here or there. Not a master by any means but I kept even with you so can't be too shabby." He chuckled, "Well since you know my Semblance, mind sharing yours since I've seen it know?"

Yang thought for a second, "Sure. Pretty much, every hit I take lets me absorb the force and dish it back out twice as much." She smiled at him.

"That explains a lot. Mostly the bruises."

She snickered at that, "Oh wait, that reminds me. How'd you throw fire at me?"

"I used my fire infused aura to ignite the air then manipulated the fire. It used a lot of my infused aura to do it though."

"Wow. You knew you could do that?"

"Nope. Figured that out about five minutes ago."

She looked at him shocked, "You didn't know you could do that?!"

He chuckled, "Nope. Just winged it."

"And what if it failed?"

He shrugged, "I would've got my block knocked off."

They laid there for a little bit longer before Yang asked a question. "Can we fight again? I'd love to learn a few moves." Jaune almost thought she sounded nervous and thought for a second.

"Sure. But next time, let's hold back a bit. I feel like I got hit by a train." He was slowly getting up and groaning. "And we still have class."

"Don't remind me." Yang whined. She sat up and saw Jaune standing up and holding out a hand for her. She took it and he helped her up. As she stood she stumbled forward into his chest and Jaune held her so she didn't fall. They stayed like that for a bit before Yang looked at Jaune with a slight blush and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for being so cool about this, Jaune."

Jaune had his own blush, "No problem, Yang. What's a fight between friends?" They started to slowly get out of the crater, leaning on each other for support. When they got out they saw a very angry Professor Goodwitch coming towards them.

"Would one of you two explain, why you two destroyed the courtyard first thing in the morning?" She asked with frustration and anger.

Yang looked down before speaking, "Well, you see Miss Goodwitch. I…"

Jaune cut her off, "Asked to spar with me before breakfast and I agreed." The both turned to him in shock.

"You consider that a spar, Mr. Arc?" Goodwitch asked with disbelief.

Jaune scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "We both kinda went overboard when our Semblances activated. Right, Yang?" He turned to her with a smile and a subtle wink.

She quickly continued, "Yeah. He said he knew some hand-to-hand and I wanted to see how much."

Goodwitch turned to Yang, "So why do you have your weapon active, Miss Xiao Long?"

Her heart dropped slightly until Jaune stepped in again, "She used it to allow me to use my Semblance when her's activated so we'd be even." Yang nodded at that.

Goodwitch looked between the two of them and the destroyed courtyard. She sighed before she brought her fingers to the bridge of her nose. "I should give you both detention but I'll let you both off with a warning. And if you two wish to spar again keep the destruction to a minimum. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" The said in unison.

They were both dismissed as she went about fixing the courtyard. Yang was still using Jaune as a support but not because she was weak. "Thank you again, Hero."

He smiled, "No problem, Sun Fire."

She looked at him, "Sun Fire?"

He nodded, "Yup. Since you call me Hero, I decided you needed a nickname as well. And I think Sun Fire is perfect." He looked to her, "Why? Is it bad?"

She chuckled and shook her head, "No, it's fine. I mean I do kick ass and burn bright like the sun."

"Don't forget, just as beautiful." He said with a teasing grin.

She punched him gently, "Didn't you learn not to tease people?"

"Nope. Just not to tease Ruby." He was smirking now. "Why? Can't take it?"

She gave her own smirk, "Careful or this Sun Fire may burn you."

"I think I can take it."

They just looked at each other before they heard Pyrrha and Ruby shouting their names. They turned to see both their teams running to them. They had a lot to explaining to do.


	10. The Past

After Jaune and Yang explained what happened everyone had mixed reactions. Ruby felt responsible for the whole misunderstanding until Yang told her it was solely her fault. Weiss just thought the two were being irresponsible and were lucky that they didn't get punished. Blake just listened to the whole story but accepted it with a small grin, possibly enjoying the whole thing. Pyrrha was, at first, mad at Yang but when Jaune kept saying he didn't really care anymore and everything was settled, she quickly let it go. Nora was annoyed she missed the whole fight and Ren was just trying not to laugh at his brother's misfortune.

After that, they all had to make their way to classes. Jaune had a hard time concentrating, due to the fact that he kept hearing people go on and on about his fight with Yang. That and also, rumors on how he took out the Boarbatusk without touching it adding to his reputation. As the day went on the rumors got more and more outrageous. By lunch, the whole school was convinced he was the most skilled first year at disposing of Grimm and he could kill any and all Grimm that he came across. And now on top of that, now there was this rumor that the fight between him and Yang was because she was jealous of Ruby winning his heart. That was just insane! He'd be lucky if one of those two amazing girls had feelings for him, let alone both. Besides, they deserved someone better, especially considering his heart was emotionally unstable when it came to romance at this point in time.

This is why Jaune was repeatedly smacking his head on their table during lunch.

"Jaune, stop before you give yourself a concussion." Pyrrha said worried.

Jaune hit his head on last time but left his head on the table. "Can't believe it's our second day and already I'm being talked about by nearly everyone here. I was trying to stay under the radar!" he said in frustration.

"Man, I thought you'd love being in the spotlight. I mean growing up outside the Kingdoms probably left you starved for attention." Yang said half-jokingly.

Not looking up Jaune continued, "I had plenty of attention, Yang. Most of it wasn't good, at all. That's one of the major reasons I hate being the center of attention." There was a small silence. "No, I don't wanna talk about it now. I'm still tired going all out against Yang. And no, that was not innuendo, Yang." He pointed over at Nora without looking up. "And no, Nora, you will not tell them later."

Nora pouted at that. She was already mouthing that exact thing to the others. Ren smirked at this and everyone looked at Jaune.

Ruby decided to ask, "Jaune, how'd you know Nora was going to say that?"

Jaune shrugged with his head still on the table. "I've known Nora far too long. I developed a six sense to her shenanigans." Just as he said that he sat up and the grape Nora threw at him just hit the table where his head once was. "See?"

Everyone just chuckled as Nora looked away sheepishly. They all went about talking normally. He realized Ruby and Weiss seemed to be doing better than before and he grinned at that. Eventually Nora starting talking about her latest dream with Ren correcting her at certain points in her tale. Jaune just sat there with his head in his hand just enjoying the break from all the hectic events of the day. That was until he heard whispering and glanced over to see people looking at him and subtly pointing at him. He just sighed in annoyance. He was about to get up and go anywhere else but Ren placed a hand on his shoulder. "It'll blow over, Jaune. Just be patient."

Jaune looked up at the ceiling and sighed again, "I don't think I can deal with all this, Ren. Kinda just wanna run and hide."

There was a clatter and he looked to see Nora drop her silverware. "You can't run away, Jaune. You're our Fearless Leader, you never run away. You didn't even when we faced the horde of Grimm that invaded that village, we ended up fighting them all."

Weiss chimed in, "Nora, this is seriously bothering him. I don't think bringing up one of your dreams is exactly what he needs right now."

Nora looked at her slightly annoyed, "For your info, Ice Queen, that wasn't a dream. It actually happened."

Weiss was about to say something but Jaune interrupted her. "Actually, it did." They all looked at him in shock before turning to Ren who nodded. They all turn back to Jaune. "How do you think us three got accepted into Beacon?"

"We assumed you took the test like all of us." Weiss looked at Ruby for a second. "Most of us."

Jaune shook his head slightly, "Nope, we're a special case like Ruby."

Ruby's eyes were filled with excitement. "Can you tell us, Jaune? Please?"

Jaune took out his scroll to check the time, "Looks like we have enough time. If everyone wants, I have no problem telling it." He looked and everyone seemed curious. "Alright then." He stroked his chin thinking. "I guess it starts when we left that village."

* * *

 _Jaune, Ren and Nora were making their way across the countryside, on their way back to their teacher's home village. Their home. They were a couple of days out from it and stopped at a neighboring village to get a few supplies and rest for a few hours. They were a few miles away and at the top of the hill they were on, Jaune had a strange feeling that told him something was wrong. He turned to see fires all around the village and smoke coming off of some of the houses. He was staring at it in horror and soon Ren and Nora turned as well and had the same horrified expression. They could now hear the screaming of the people and the feral sounds of Grimm._

 _Jaune clenched his fists in anger. He hated Grimm, more so now considering what had happened to the three of them not long ago. And seeing them destroy this village just made his hatred run deeper._

 _Nora was the first to speak, "Can we do anything?" She looked at Ren and Jaune expectantly._

 _Ren slowly shook his head. "I don't believe we can, Nora. There's simply too many Grimm to fight." He looked back sadly before turning away. "We'd better keep moving." He started walking again. Nora looked at the village sadly then followed Ren. They walked a few more feet before they stopped and turned back around to see Jaune slowly walking back towards the village._

" _Jaune? What are you doing?" Nora asked him._

 _He didn't stop or turn around. "I'm going to help those people."_

 _They looked at him in disbelief. "Jaune, there's too many of them. We wouldn't be able to do much." Ren tried to reason with him._

 _Jaune kept walking, "We won't know until we try."_

 _Ren tried again, "Jaune…"_

 _He stopped, "I have to try!" Nora and Ren jumped at that. Jaune stopped. "I'm tired of us losing everything to those damned monsters! We've lost too much and I'm done running away! I may die doing this but I'm taking as many of those hellish creatures with me!" He turned to them with a weak smile. "You two should get out of here. You shouldn't get involved in this. Take care of each other." He started to walk back to the village when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Ren and Nora standing there._

" _You're right, we've lost enough and are sick of running. We're with you, Jaune.", Ren said with full conviction in his voice._

 _Nora nodded with the same conviction, "You're not getting rid of us that easily, Fearless Leader."_

 _He smiled at them, "I love you two." He pulled them both into a hug. They turned around and Jaune drew Raikiri and his eyes shifted to yellow. Ren put his hand on his shoulder again and Nora took his empty hand. Jaune shot the three of them forward in a burst of lightning. All three reached the center of the village in a few minutes with Jaune slightly out of breath. The three took in their surroundings._

 _This village had one main road, right through the center of it. At the very center of the village had a fountain and two smaller roads extended from the town centers outwards to the left and right of the main road. The whole village was surrounded by a walkway and it had a dozen alleys that allowed_ _the_ _people to move freely throughout. Right in front of the fountain, the three saw hundreds of Grimm down the other half of the main road. Beowolves, Ursa and Boarbatusks were trying their damnedest to get to the people. Dozens of other Grimm were doing the same on the side roads. Nora and Ren turned to Jaune to see what the plan was. Jaune took all of this in and came up with the 'best' strategy at the moment._

" _Nora, you pack the biggest punch, try to hold off the Grimm on the main street for as long as possible." She nodded and Jaune turned to Ren. "You and I will deal with the smaller numbers on the side roads as quickly as we can then regroup with Nora to back her up." Ren nodded as well. "Try to save as many people as possible but don't take any unnecessary risks, understand." Both nodded again. "One last thing." Jaune pointed Raikiri directly at Nora and released lightning into Nora. She used her Semblance to absorb it and became more powerful. Nora chuckled and turned to the horde of Grimm, Ren and Jaune did the same. Jaune quickly applied pressure with his left ring finger and drew Suikiri with his left hand. His eyes shifted to the darker blue and the three of them took off down their designated streets._

 _Jaune ran with Suikiri pulling the water out of the fountain. He used the large amount of water to flood the street and pushed back most of the Grimm. As they all started to charge at him again, he stabbed Raikiri into the wet ground and electrocuted the soaked Grimm. The all fell dead but a dozen still stood: five Boarbatusks, four Beowolves, two Ursai and an Ursa Major. The Boarbatusk started to roll up and gain speed to charge at him. Jaune flick Suikiri upwards and the water still on the ground threw them up into the air. His eyes shifted back to yellow and he shot forward in a burst of lightning and managed to kill the Beowolves before his blade got stuck in one of the Ursai. The Ursa started to thrash about as the second came towards him. Jaune pointed Suikiri at its head and fired a pressurized water blast, knocking it off balance. Jaune planted Suikiri into the ground than applied pressure with his left middle finger and drew Kakiri, his eyes shifted to red and he used his strength to slam the impaled Ursa into its brethren. Once he did, he swung upwards with Kakiri and set them both ablaze._

 _As he pulled Raikiri free he fell to his knee and his eyes went back to normal, he was suffering from 'Elemental Backlash'. Before he knew it, the Ursa Major was swinging its paw down onto him. He somehow managed to roll out of the way. Jaune forced himself to kick off the ground and impaled the Ursa Major in the side and started to paralyze it with Raikiri's electricity. The Ursa was slowed down enough for Jaune to recover enough to absorb the fire dust again. With his eyes crimson again, his strength returned and he swung Kakiri and sliced off its head. He pulled Raikiri free and sheathed Kakiri. He went over to Suikiri and pulled it from the ground._

 _Jaune caught movement and saw the people in their houses, he turned to them. "This is your chance. Take the side road and circle around the village to the south. It's Grimm free and your best chance to escape." The people just stared at him in a mix of shock, awe and most of all, fear. Same as always. At this point the Boarbatusks hit the ground. He turned and saw them rise, injured but still alive. Jaune's eyes shifted to the darker blue as he started making a circular motion with Suikiri. "Go now! I'll hold them off! Go!" The command in his voice and the water forming a circular shield in front of him, galvanized them to run. The Boarbatusks charged again and when they were close, Jaune pulled back and plunged Suikiri into the center of the water. Instantly it separated into dozens of compressed water pellets and were fired off at the Grimm. They were shredded and stopped a few feet in front of Jaune._

 _At this point, Suikiri was out of dust and Jaune used this time to catch his breath. He sheathed Suikiri and Raikiri as he was making his way back to the town center. He looked to see Ren finishing off his Grimm and Nora was still somehow holding off the bulk of the horde. He was about to join her when he heard screeching, he looked up to see Nevermores and Griffons circling above. Jaune jumped on top of the fountain and drew Fukiri. As his body lightened and his eyes turned light green, he jumped on top of the tallest building. He crouched and started forming a cyclone around his legs, he jumped and flew past the aerial Grimm. He whistled while going upwards. The Grimm took notice of this and followed him. At the top of his jump, he turned to face them and swung his sword in a series of slashes. As one was done, another was already started. He sent numerous wind blades at the Grimm and sliced them to ribbons. There was only one large Nevermore left and Jaune formed another cyclone around his legs as he angled towards it. He fired off again and impaled it in the chest. The impact was hard enough that he tore clean through it. He used a gust of wind to slow himself down and gently touched down in the town center._

 _As he did, Ren ran up to him. "I got all the people on my side to evacuate."_

 _Jaune nodded, "Same on my end." They looked over to Nora and she was beginning to falter. "She needs another boost. Let's go!" Jaune shifted Fukiri to his left hand and drew Raikiri again. He shot off in a burst of lightning next to Nora and pushed the Grimm back with a large gust of wind to get them some breathing room. He turned to Nora, "You okay?"_

 _She nodded, slightly out of breath. "Yeah. Just tired. And down to my last explosives."_

 _Jaune held Raikiri out to her, "I still have half my lightning dust, think you can still handle it?"_

 _Nora looked down at it than back at Jaune and nodded. She placed her hand on the flat of the blade and absorbed the last of Raikiri's lightning. "Whoa! Talk about a pick me up!" She said cheerily. Next thing they knew Ren was jumping over them and opening fire onto the Grimm. Nora took off after him and Jaune sheathed his now empty Raikiri. Shifting Fukiri back to his right hand, Jaune drew Dokiri and charged after them._

 _It was half an hour later and they were on their last legs. Nora was completely out of explosives and her Semblance ran out long ago. Ren was out of bullets as well and took a nasty cut to the leg that had him limping. Jaune had to resort to using all three of his remaining swords, keeping one in the ground while using the other two. They were forced further and further back, they were now at the beginning of the main road and the hundred remaining Grimm were in the village center. They all shared a look, one of fear and acceptance. But it was replaced with determination, they may die but it would be with each other. They turned to the Grimm and charged, Jaune reached to swap Fukiri for Dokiri and as he did, he felt something different. As the three elemental energies were temporary inside of him, he felt something new form. Something powerful. It was a small chance but he had to take it to save them._

" _Ren, Nora, I need time!" They didn't look back. They trusted Jaune. Fully. He impaled all three swords in front of him and held his hands out to them. He started to slowly absorb the dust from them and started to mix them. He felt pain like none he ever felt before, like at any moment he'd be torn apart but kept pushing. He needed this power to save everyone. With all his will and determination this new power emerged, he didn't even hesitate to run forward. "You two, get back!" They turned to see Jaune, his aura shifting between red, light green and brown rapidly and his eyes a mix of those same three colors. The two jumped back as he ran forward. As he was only a few feet away from the Grimm, something instinctual took over. He slammed his fist into the ground as it was glowing white. As soon as he did, two lines ran across the ground at a 45-degree angle. When they were exactly the right distance the lines converged on each other to form a perfect triangle that encompassed the village center and the Grimm. The three points of the triangle shot into the air and formed a pyramid and as it completed, the faces of it became a translucent white, trapping the Grimm. That all happened in a matter of seconds. Any Grimm that touched it started to burn and evaporating._

" _Wow! Jaune, how'd you do that?!" Nora asked._

" _I'm not sure but it's time to end this." He said with every ounce of conviction he had. He stood up with his hand still glowing. He squeezed it and as he did, the faces turned a brilliant white that blinded them all. As the light disappeared, so did everything inside of it. The Grimm, the fountain, parts of the buildings, all of it. They were all in shock, Jaune fell to the ground exhausted. Nora and Ren made their way over to him and did the same. "Well, we did it." Was all he said before the three started laughing. They held each other close and started to cry tears of joy and relief._

* * *

"After that, we eventually made it back to our home and not long after that, Ozpin showed up and offered us a spot at Beacon. We accepted and that's how it happened." He took a sip of his water and then looked at his friends. Saying they were shocked was an understatement. Ruby was looking at them like they were the heroes at the end of a movie, Weiss looked at them with her mouth open in disbelief, Blake had an unreadable look on her face but her eyes were as wide as they could get, Yang had a look of shock but with something else he didn't recognize, the look made him very nervous. He turned to Pyrrha, who was now looking at him like she's never seen him before.

"Wow." That was all Ruby could say.

"Took the words out of my mouth, Sis." Yang responded.

"This whole thing seems a bit unbelievable. Sounds like one of Nora's dreams. No offense." Weiss said in disbelief but not in a negative way.

Jaune just smirked. "Nora?" he turned to her.

"On it, Jaune!" she was already on her scroll looking for something. When she found it she turned her scroll for everyone to see. It was a video showing Jaune kneeling with his fist on the ground, in front of a light pyramid with Grimm trapped inside. Then they heard Nora's voice come through. "Wow! Jaune, how'd you do that?!" Jaune was rising with his hand still glowing while saying, "I don't know but it's time to end this." He squeezed his hand and the pyramid started glowing bright white, illuminating Jaune like an angelic figure before the screen was completely white. When the picture was back, there was nothing left of the Grimm and Jaune had fell to the ground. That's when the video ended.

They all looked at Jaune, who had a smirk. "See, video-graphic proof."

"I stand corrected." Weiss stated.

"So, Jaune, what was that?" Ruby asked shaking with excitement.

Jaune shrugged, "I'm not exactly sure. That has been the only time I've done it and trust me, I've tried to do it again."

"Too bad. That would come in handy." Yang said with a wink.

Jaune nodded, "True but the aftereffects are way worse though."

"What do you mean, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked with concern.

Before he could respond the bell rang. "Sorry, that'll have to wait until after class." he said with a grin. He got up and made his way to the exit, followed by Ren and Nora. The five girls stared at each other before racing after them.


	11. Complications

The rest of the day went a bit better for Jaune, although he was still expecting his friends to tackle him to the ground and force him to tell them what he meant about the drawbacks of that new power. He was fine with telling them about it, he was just exhausted. He didn't sleep all that great the night before, then the fight with Yang first thing in the morning and with the usual classes plus all the rumors circling around. He sighed, 'I want this day to be over already. Or at least an hour or two to just unwind.'

His last class was already over and he was walking through the halls aimlessly. Eventually, he just headed to the tree where they all sat at when he told them about his Semblance. He laid down under its shade and relaxed. He closed his eyes, the warmth of the day and the cooling breeze was so nice. He was just about to drift off to sleep when his scroll went off. He took it out of his pocket and put it beside him. He'd deal with it later. He put his left arm behind his head and fell asleep.

About half an hour later, his friends were looking for him everywhere. After leaving him multiple messages and calls, they all became worried. The seven of them split up to find him. Yang was absolutely livid. She was searching everywhere she could think of. 'He'd better be in trouble or he'll regret it.' She thought. She was looking around the grounds of Beacon when she saw the person she was looking for laying under a tree. She started stomping her way over to him and she stopped almost right on top of him. She looked down at his sleeping form and got a mix of emotions. For one, she was pissed that he blew them off to just sleep but she couldn't doubt that his sleeping face was somewhat cute. She shook her head and decided he needed to learn a lesson. She pulled her fist back to give him a rude awakening. Until, the ground under her foot sank about a foot and caused her to lose her balance. Before she could correct herself, the ground popped back to its original level and caused her to fall on her rear. She looked around in shock, wondering what the hell just happened?

"Very smooth." She looked to see Jaune still laying there but with his eyes open and looking at her. She noticed his eyes were brown and put two and two together.

"You used your Semblance on me?"

He nodded and held up his right hand which held an earth dust crystal. "Serves you right. You tried to wake me up by punching me."

"It wouldn't have been too hard." She said while turning her head before it snapped back. "Wait, how'd you know it was me?"

"I woke up when I heard you stomping over, I also felt the heat off your Semblance when you got close."

She pouted slightly, "You could have just said you were awake."

Jaune shrugged, "I would've but when I noticed you were going to hit me, I thought you'd deserve it."

"Let's see you try it again." She said getting up. But as she did the ground under her feet shifted again and she fell forward. When she recovered she realized she fell on top of Jaune with their faces a few inches apart. They both stared at each other wide eyed.

"Well, this is a thing." Jaune said somewhat casually. Yang was about to speak but Jaune beat her to it. "Well, I think we have three options: One, we can tease each other like usual until someone comes by and misinterprets this. Two, you could get off me and we could tell the others where we are to have that talk. Or three, the one I'm for, we could just relax here for a bit and call them later. Your choice." His eyes shifted back to the usual blue.

Yang thought for a second then smirked, "You just want the chance for me to lay on top of you."

Jaune raised an eyebrow before speaking, "I said we could relax here. Didn't say you had to lay on me but if that's what you want." He yawned slightly and closed his eyes. "I'm not gonna stop you."

Yang thought for a second. It was a nice day and she was tired after a long day. She wouldn't mind catching a few z's. But she was a bit nervous and had to ask a question. "How do I know you won't try and pull anything?"

Jaune kept his eyes closed, "One reason is because you'd beat me to a pulp if I did." He opened one of his eyes and looked in to her's. "But the main reason is that you're my friend and I respect you too much to try anything." He closed his eye again. Yang thought for a while. She didn't think Jaune would try and pull anything but him saying all that made her more confident. She decided to trust him. She laid her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. It was soothing to her, she smiled lightly before falling asleep as well.

* * *

About an hour later, Yang woke up feeling well rested. She noticed that she shifted in her sleep and was now almost completely on top of Jaune. She also realized that Jaune's right arm was now lying gently on her back. She looked up at his face and saw he was still peacefully sleeping. She smiled and couldn't stop herself from thinking he was adorable. Her face flushed slightly, 'I can't be attracted to him, can I? I mean, he's not that bad looking and he's in great shape. Not ripped but toned.' She thought this and could feel his muscles under his uniform. 'Okay, that's two things. He's also a good fighter, he's nice to Ruby and he's great with his team. Maybe, I do like him.' She flushed more. 'But, is it okay? He's not in a great spot right now, but I do know what it's like to lose someone you love. I could be there for him, help him through this. And maybe…' Her mind trailed off as he shifted slightly under her and unconsciously pulled her closer to him. She just kept looking at his face and her eyes drifted down to his lips. 'Maybe he won't mind?' She slowly started to raise her head towards his and her lips were closing in on his.

"Ehem, are we interrupting?" Yang froze as she heard a familiar voice with a noticeable edge. She slowly turned around to see their friends staring at them. Ren and Nora had small grins and Nora had her scroll out. Weiss and Blake had neutral expressions on. Ruby had a look of shock and maybe a bit of anger. Meanwhile Pyrrha was giving her a look that was pure anger.

"Umm, hey, guys." That was all Yang could say with a nervous smile.

Weiss just stared at her. "We've been looking for Jaune for almost two hours and we find you with him, sleeping!" Weiss said very annoyed.

"Who's shouting?" They all turned to Jaune as his eyes were slowly opening. He first saw Yang and gave her a small smile before he looked up at the rest of his friends. He sighed, "So much for sleeping." He took his arm off Yang, she got off of him and sat next to him. He sat up and stretched his arms before looking back at his friends. "Let me guess, want me to explain our sleeping arrangements?" he gave them a small smile.

"You really shouldn't do such indecent things in public." Weiss said.

Jaune raised an eyebrow at her, "We were taking a nap. I didn't sleep well the night before because I was worried about what happened yesterday." He gave Weiss a look and she understood what he meant. "And with everything today, I just wanted to relax. Yang found me first and I made her the offer to join me. That's it, nothing indecent about it."

"It's normal for a girl to sleep on you?" Blake asked.

Jaune shrugged, "My sisters used to nap with me when we were younger. Also, Nora uses me and Ren as body pillows on occasion. So, I'm used to it."

"You two looked adorable by the way!" Nora showed the two the picture on her scroll of them sleeping. Yang was just glad it was from before she tried to kiss him.

"Just don't send that around the school, Nora." Jaune told her. He knew he couldn't get her to delete it so he decided not to try. She nodded at him in response. "Alright then, if you'd all sit down I'll explain the drawbacks of the 'Exceed' Element."

They all started to sit down, "Exceed Element?" Ruby asked with a tilt of her head.

Jaune nodded, "Yup. Since the Advance Elements are a combination of two elements, I had to come up with another name for it since its an combination of three elements."

They all nodded and Jaune started to think. "Well, to start the list is the fact that I was super fatigued from using the Exceed Element. It was like an extreme case of Elemental Backlash."

"What's Elemental Backlash?" Pyrrha asked.

"That's what I call it when I become exhausted by switching between too many elements too quickly. When my aura has to absorb, release than absorb another element too quickly it becomes overwhelmed. To make sure it doesn't do any damage to me, my aura stops my Semblance from working and even stops helping my body. The sudden stop gives my body a bit of fatigue until my aura is stable enough to work again."

"Was that what happened to you during initiation?" Weiss asked remembering when he saved her and Ruby from the Death Stalker.

"Yup. It usually only lasts about 30 seconds to a minute or so, but it's always a bit risky. Anyways besides that, my body was going through a lot of pain. Kinda like my body would tear itself apart at any second." He looked up and thought for a second. "Maybe that's the Elemental Feedback for it?"

Yang looked at him in confusion, "What the hell is Elemental Feedback?"

"When I use any Advance Element my body is subjugated to a lot of stress, that's Elemental Feedback. Each of my Advance Elements has a feedback and each one is unique. Like with ice, my body has to deal with extreme colds. That's why my body is usually freezing after using it."

Everyone nodded and he continued, "The last one is the worst but I think it's because the Exceed Element is far from perfected. After I used it my aura didn't return for a full day."

Everyone looked at him in shock, "That's pretty serious, Jaune." Pyrrha said worried.

"That's part of the reason why I haven't fully devoted myself to mastering it. At least not yet. I had similar difficulties with the Advance Elements so I'm not too worried. But I will be cautious when I start working on it." He looked at Pyrrha when he said this and she nodded. "That's about it. Unless something else pops up when I start working on it." He picked up his scroll that was beside him and checked the time. "Well, I got homework to do. Better get started on it." He slowly stood up and everyone else did as well.

As they were walking back to the school, Yang pulled Nora to the side. "Would you mind sending me that pic?" Yang asked Nora.

Nora smirked before she nodded. She pulled out her scroll while saying, "That was kinda sneaky though. Trying to kiss Jaune while he was asleep."

Yang flushed at that but looked down at her scroll to see the picture. She smiled slightly before looking back at Nora, "Can we keep this a secret?" Nora nodded with a smile and Yang sighed in relief. "Thanks."

"But, you have to do something for me first."

"Okay, what?" Yang wasn't quite sure what Nora had in mind.

"I wanna fight you. Right now." She smiled widely.

Yang was taken back but she soon smiled too "You're on!" The two ran to the nearest sparring room. Their teams found them twenty minutes later both exhausted and beat up. They soon carried them back to their dorms. Ren was giving Nora a piggyback and Jaune was doing the same with Yang.

"How'd I get drafted for this?" he asked halfway there.

"Because you're stronger than me, Weiss and Blake. Plus, you're a nice guy." Ruby said with a smile.

Jaune sighed and nodded as Yang buried her head further into his shoulder and mumbled in her sleep. He smiled and chuckled a bit at that. When they got to their rooms, Jaune carried Yang into her room and slowly moved her into his arm. He was holding her in a bridal carry and was trying to figure out how he was going to get her into her bed. She woke up and looked at him. He looked down at her with a smile. "Good, you're awake." Yang flushed again and quickly had him put her down. He bid everyone a good night before he left for his room. Yang quickly ran into the shower to wash up and try to calm herself down. She couldn't deny it any longer. 'I have a crush on Jaune.' She thought to herself as she smiled and felt a warmth in her chest. "Things just got complicated but very interesting." she said out loud.


	12. Fights

It had been a few days and now its Friday. Things had been going smoothly for Jaune and his friends. Ruby and Weiss had been getting along better, Ruby would still annoy Weiss at times and Weiss would still nag Ruby. But it was better than them fighting. Nora and Yang were now closer after the impromptu fight those two had, makes sense given their personalities. They'd all found their balance between classes, homework, training and just hanging out. Jaune would say he was enjoying his time at Beacon so far, if not for two things. First, the rumors were still circulating through the school. Jaune was ignoring most of them but something else has been bothering him, Yang.

Ever since the day they fought and slept together, she's been wanting to be around him more. Even when hanging out with all their friends, she would be taking glances at him when he wasn't paying attention. Her behavior had been weird lately but he really didn't mind all that much, he enjoyed Yang's company nonetheless. Besides from the teasing and harmless flirting, he found that Yang had a way to make things fun and lightened up the room with her laughter. She was also spontaneous, so that always left him guessing. Pyrrha and Ruby were getting a bit annoyed with her new attention for Jaune. When Jaune went to ask any of them about it, they quickly shifted the discussion to another topic. He gave up after a while.

The other thing bothering him was actually more of a someone. Cardin Winchester, leader of Team CRDL and all around bully and jerk. Jaune had been the main target for his bullying or at least he tried to. Every time he tried to knock his books out of his hands, Jaune's reflexes allowed him to catch them. On the few occasions he had his swords with him, Cardin would try to mess with them. Try being the key word. After years of living outside the Kingdoms, Jaune made sure that his weapons were untouchable to anyone but him, Ren and Nora. The sheathes were nearly indestructible and the blades only reacted to a few unique auras, so they were definitely safe from tamper. The only time Cardin was close to doing anything Jaune couldn't handle was when he shoved him into a rocket locker. Although, either through panic or instincts, Jaune used an aura infused kick to open it before he could finish the coordinates. Jaune stepped out to see Cardin with an almost broken nose. After that it was apparent that Cardin's mission was to get back at Jaune.

Which brings him to combat class, he just got paired up to fight against his 'bully.' Honestly, Jaune would rather just stay away from him but he had little choice. Jaune was walking into the arena with Cardin already out there in his armor and his mace resting on his shoulder. Jaune looked him up and down, 'Considering his weapon and build, he probably focuses on pure strength to beat his opponents. Rather than try and beat him at his own game, I should use Suikiri to slowly wear him down. Plus, it'll keep most of my skills in the dark for a bit longer.' With his internal monologue over Jaune went to draw Suikiri.

"What, see something you like, Arc? Too bad I don't swing that way." Cardin sneered at him and a few people laughed.

Jaune just sighed than decided to stop biting his tongue. "No offense, Cardin, but you're not anything close to my taste. Besides, if you knew anything about me you'd know I spend time with six extremely attractive women. While you hang with three other dudes, so who may be closer to 'swinging that way' as you said?" Jaune smirked at him as he drew Suikiri and his eyes shifted to the slightly darker blue. The class erupted in laughter at that and Cardin got pissed. Jaune didn't notice that five of the six women he just spoke of were blushing like mad at Jaune's compliment. The only one who didn't was Nora because she knew Jaune didn't see her that way but was still smiling at his words.

"Break his legs, Fearless Leader!" Nora shouted at him and Jaune answered her with a thumbs up.

"Are you two done talking now?" Professor Goodwitch said with a tone of annoyance. Both didn't say a word, just got into their respective battle stances. "Ready. Begin!" Goodwitch gave the signal and both Huntsmen-in-training charged at each other. Cardin started with an overhead swing that Jaune dodged easily and ran his sword against his armored ribs. Jaune turned quickly to see Cardin swinging behind him in a backhanded swing. Jaune leaned back so it missed and pointed Suikiri at Cardin's chest before firing a water blast. Not expecting this, Cardin was sent sliding a few feet back and took a decent hit to his aura. Cardin looked up to see Jaune just staring at him with a neutral expression. Cardin became further enraged by this, that was the same expression this guy always wore while looking at him. He swung his mace down and sent a series of explosions towards Jaune. Jaune swung his sword upwards with Suikiri slicing into the ground, creating a wave of water to intercept the explosions. This resulted into a wall of steam that separated the two.

Jaune didn't hesitate to run through the steam with Suikiri at the ready. As Jaune erupted out of the other side, Cardin swung at Jaune from his left. Jaune kept going, knowing the armor on his left arm would absorb most of it. He swung diagonally hitting Cardin's shoulder before he felt the impact on his arm and was sent flying a few feet. He skidded to a stop before realizing the pain in his left arm. He was shocked at this until he realized something he shouldn't have forgotten. His rerebrace was lost nearly a week ago. Jaune let out a groan of frustration and anger. 'How can I forget something so stupid!' he shouted in his own head.

"That all you have, Jauney Boy?" Cardin said in his usual sneer.

This was the wrong move. Jaune was already mad, this pushed him over the edge. He sheathed Suikiri and drew Dokiri before giving him a cold stare as his eyes shifted to brown. "Not even close." He said in a just as cold tone. This made most of the class shiver. Especially his friends, they've never seen Jaune like this.

"Oh boy, Jaune is pissed." Nora said in a worried tone. They all looked at her and Ren nodded before saying.

"Something must have gotten under his skin during this fight. Must be something important."

"What do you two mean?" Pyrrha asked her teammates.

"Jaune was trained to fight with his emotions in check. His Semblance can be very dangerous, so he must be able to fight with a clear head. But when he gets angry he fights more aggressively and brutal." They all looked at him stunned. "Cardin has no chance of winning this now. He's lucky this is a sparring match or it'd be a lot worse." Before they could ask they heard a scream and looked back down to the arena.

Jaune gave a battle cry as he rushed towards Cardin, Cardin snapped out of his shock and swung at Jaune and was shocked when Jaune met his mace with his sword. The two stood there staring each other down, Jaune's in anger and Cardin's in shock. He expected him to dodge like before, his train of thought stopped as Jaune kicked him in the chest. Before he could fully stop Jaune was already on him swinging with a series of heavy swings. Cardin remained on the defensive but was still taking hits and his aura was decreasing. Cardin saw an opening and swung his mace at Jaune, who intercepted it with his sword. Cardin smirked and released an explosion at that point. Jaune's upper body was engulfed in the explosion and smoke. Most of the class gasped at this, besides four people. Nora and Ren were calmly watching, well calmly for Nora. Yang and Pyrrha were seething and looked like they'd run down there at any moment.

Until the smoke cleared when Jaune let his, now brown, aura blow it away. Everyone now saw that he didn't even have a scratch on him. Cardin was more so shocked until Jaune hit him across the face with an aura infused fist that felt like he was hit by a boulder. Cardin slid across the arena and when he stopped, he saw Jaune slowly walking towards him. He tried to stand but Jaune stomped his foot and caused a small seismic tremor to knock him back to the ground. Jaune at the same time rocketed forward with his aura and brought a two handed swing down onto Cardin. He was able to bring his mace up in time to stop the blade but the weight and strength behind it still created a crater underneath him.

"That's enough, Mr. Arc. Mr. Winchester's aura is now in the red, the match is yours." Professor Goodwitch stated. Jaune lifted Dokiri and sheathed it, his eyes shifting back to normal. Cardin slowly rose from the crater. "Mr. Winchester, you allowed your emotions to dictate your actions which led to you either making mistakes or not being able to capitalize on those openings you made. Try to keep a level head from now on." Cardin nodded but did not look happy. "Mr. Arc, you fought well. You made a smart move to switch tactics but you could've done more in this fight. You were holding…"

"Thank you, Professor." Jaune interrupted her and bowed slightly. As he raised his head he had his usual smile on. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Make sure you do. With that class is dismissed. Remember, everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before students from the other Kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing Vale."

Jaune left the arena to change back into his uniform before meeting his friends outside the classroom. They all started talking as they made their way to the cafeteria. As they sat down at their usual table, Nora started to tell them about her reoccurring dream while Ren corrected her. Jaune would usually enjoy this but his mind was somewhere else.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha asked him.

He turned back to with his usual smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"You don't seem fine." Ruby spoke next.

Everyone turned to him and he sighed, "It's just something that happened in the fight. Just got me upset with myself."

"What happened?" Yang asked.

"That hit I took on my left arm. Usually, my rerebrace would absorb the hit but I don't have it anymore." He placed his hand on his arm. "I should've remembered that but I didn't and took the hit."

"That's what got you angry? A mistake?" Blake asked him.

"No. The fact that I lost it is what infuriates me." Jaune said calmly.

Everyone looked at each other than back at Jaune before Weiss spoke up. "Why don't you get another one?"

Jaune looked up at her with a sad smile, "It had a lot of sentimental value, Snow Angel. Can't get that back with a new one."

Everyone finally understood. Pyrrha started thinking, 'Jaune said he got it from his teacher and when I said they could probably get a new one, he shut himself off. What's going on?' She was about to ask when everyone's attention was brought to the sound of someone obnoxiously laughing. They all looked to see Team CRDL harassing a rabbit Faunus. Most people at their table were not exactly happy at this.

"Atrocious. I can't stand people like him." Pyrrha stated.

Blake was staring daggers over to them, "You're not the only one…"

"Must be hard being a Faunus." Yang said sadly.

All conversations at the table were stopped when they heard an accented scream, "Ow! That hurts!" They all turned to see Cardin pulling her rabbit ear.

"Okay that's going too far!" Ruby looked like she was about to bolt over there until she heard Nora say something.

"Don't worry. Jaune has this!" She said with an evil grin. They all looked at her then where Jaune was. They all saw him making his way over to Team CRDL and the Faunus girl.

"Please, stop…" she was whimpering in pain.

Cardin laughed and turned to his team. "I told you it was real!" before he knew it he had a sharp pain going through his wrist. "Ow!" He screamed and turned to see a very angry Jaune standing between him and the Faunus girl with a tight grip on his wrist of the hand that once held her ear.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Jaune asked him.

"Just messing with an animal. Wha-OW!"

At the animal remark Jaune applied more pressure, anymore and he'd probably break his wrist. "I've seen racists like you all the time, Cardin. I'm not a fan. If I see you doing anything like this again, I will break more than your wrist. Understand?" Jaune's voice left little to argue. Cardin started nodding his head. Jaune let go of his wrist and turned around with his hand gently on the girl's back, leading her away. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice full of concern. She stared at him blankly until they heard people yelling.

"Jaune, watch out!" Yang and Pyrrha yelled in sync.

Jaune moved to the side and saw a fist just barely miss his head. He grabbed that arm and pulled the person over his shoulder. Cardin hit the ground on his back hard enough to have the air knocked out of him. Next thing Cardin saw was Jaune's foot coming down towards his throat, it stopped an inch above it. Cardin gulped and looked up at Jaune, who had very cold eyes looking at him. Jaune stepped away from Cardin and ushered the girl out of the cafeteria. When they got out the door, he turned back to her. "Sorry about that, are you okay?"

She nodded her head and looked at him still in shock, "Yes, I'm fine."

Jaune sighed, "Good."

"Why did you do that?" Jaune looked back at her in confusion. "Why did you help me?"

"Because it was the right thing to do. Plus, I hate racists, almost as much as I hate Grimm. And as a Faunus, I know your hands can be tied in situations like that." He smiled at her. She just stared at him. She never had someone stand up for her besides her team. She didn't realize a tear was running down the side of her face. He brought his hand up and she flinched slightly. Until Jaune gently wiped away the tear. "If you have a problem like that again, just come to me. Okay?" She nodded dumbly before she hugged him.

"Thank you. Thank you." She was saying weakly.

Jaune gently hugged her back and patted her back. "No problem."

They separated and she looked at him slightly embarrassed. "Thank you again. Um?"

He smiled and held out his hand. "Jaune. Jaune Arc."

She took his hand, "Velvet Scarlatina." She said with a small smile.

"A pleasure to meet you, Velvet. Are you gonna be okay?"

She nodded with the same small smile, "Yes. I have to meet my team anyways. Thank you again, Jaune." She turned and walked down the hall. Jaune just smiled before he entered the cafeteria again. He sat down with his friends and Nora had him instantly in a bear hug.

"That was amazing, Fearless Leader!" Jaune chuckled and patted her on the head.

"Of course he had to go save the pretty girl." Jaune looked over at Yang, who didn't seem happy.

"So what if she was a girl, Yang? I would've done that for any Faunus. I can't stand people like Cardin." He said with a venom in his words and his friends stared at him.

"Why though? Why do it?" Blake said curiously.

Jaune didn't say anything. They looked over to Nora and Ren who had the same expression as Jaune. Jaune took a deep breath before continuing. "Someone we knew was a Faunus and we had to watch her deal with shit like that on a regular basis." He gripped the table tightly. "So now, I refuse to sit by and watch that happen if I can stop it." At that the bell rang and they all left to go to class. Blake was still staring at Jaune's retreating form with shock. She then smiled slightly and followed him to their History Class.


	13. History and Future

Jaune made his way to his History class with Weiss, Blake and Pyrrha. As they arrived, he noticed that Velvet was also in their class. He waved at her and she returned it with a shy smile as he sat in his usual spot. Not long after that, Dr. Oobleck showed up and started teaching, if you call zooming around the front of the room, talking a mile a minute and drinking coffee teaching. Jaune tried to follow along but it was just impossible. He gave up on trying to follow along with the lectures, which meant that he had to study twice as much as the normal student but he dealt with it. Halfway through the lecture Jaune got an idea and pulled out his scroll discreetly to message Ruby.

Jaune: Hey Ruby. You busy?

After a minute or so she responded.

Ruby: In class but what's up?

Jaune: Nothing much. Was just wondering if after dinner who'd wanna go to the library together to knock out some of our assignments before the weekend?

Another minute later she responded.

Ruby: Sure! Weiss would nag me anyways so two Nevermore, one bullet.

Jaune: Sweet!

After that Jaune tuned back into Oobleck's lecture to catch up on what he was talking about.

"Now! Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?" Several students raise their hands, Velvet included. "Dreadful! Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence! I mean, look at what happened to the White Fang! Now, which one of you young scallions can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the war?"

Weiss raised her hand, "The battle at Fort Castle!"

"Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?" Jaune raised his hand. "Mr. Arc! Finally contributing! Excellent! What is the answer?"

"Night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark. General Lagune was a moron and tried to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched and he got himself captured."

"Exactly but I wouldn't have said it so bluntly Mr. Arc."

Jaune shrugged, "Sorry, Sir. I've always been known to speak with blunt honesty." Pyrrha was trying to hide a giggle and Blake had a small smirk. Jaune gave them a glance and a smile. But that faded at the next thing he heard.

"It was probably a lot easier to train animals than soldiers, anyhow." Jaune spun around to see Cardin with his usual smirk. That disappeared as he saw Jaune's angry look. They both stood up and looked like they'd start swinging.

"Mr. Winchester, Mr. Arc! Please take your seats. Both see me after class for additional readings." The two sat down and Oobleck went back to his lecture. Jaune was still irritated at the comment. He wanted nothing more than to break Cardin's face, just like he'd do if he was outside the Kingdoms. He clenched his fist on the table until he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Pyrrha giving him a sympathetic look, along with Blake surprisingly. He calmed down and smile at the two. After class the two stayed behind to get their extra readings and left. As they did Cardin shoved Jaune but he caught himself and spun around.

"Do we have a problem?!" Jaune was at his limit with this guy.

"I don't know, do we?!" Cardin got right into Jaune's face but he didn't back down. Compared to what Jaune has been through, he was nothing.

"Just say the word and I'll kick your ass like I've done twice now." Jaune said completely serious.

Cardin grabbed the front of his uniform, "You think you're better than me, Arc!?"

Jaune looked at his face dumbfounded and just shook his head slightly. He grabbed Cardin's hand and shoved it off him before he turned around and started walking away. "Get over yourself." Was all he said as he walked away from him. He was just done with Cardin and didn't want to keep this feud going. He missed the dark look in Cardin's eyes and him clenching his fists, this was not over.

* * *

Jaune and all his friends were sitting down for dinner. He was in a lot better mood after the day had ended. He was drinking some water when Yang decided to throw a curve ball at him.

"So, we're extremely attractive women, Hero?" she said with a teasing smile with he hands under her chin.

Jaune quickly turned away and did a spit take before looking back at her. "Are you trying to kill me, Yang?"

She shrugged with that same smile. "No, I like having you around. But you didn't answer my question." He was going to ignore her but all the girls at his table were staring at him besides Nora, who was braiding Ren's hair for whatever reason. Realizing he wasn't getting out of this he sighed before continuing.

"Well, yeah. You're all attractive in your own way and you all have your own type of beauty. I would think you'd all know this." He shrugged as the girls blushed a bit.

"Care to give us examples?" Yang continued with the same grin.

Jaune flushed slightly before scratching the back of his head, "I guess not." He thought for a second. "Well, Pyrrha here has very beautiful emerald green eyes and very lovely hair. I actually personally think it looks better when she has it down but her ponytail gives her, her own style. Plus, her fighting style is both beautiful and captivating. Making it amazing to watch." Pyrrha blushed and quickly looked away from her partner.

He moved on, "While Weiss has a type of refined beauty, like seeing a professional carve the most beautiful angel out of ice. I've also heard a few of your songs after you let it slip that you sing, and in my humble opinion, that is what an angel would sound like. On top of that is your scar, it draws attention to your crystal blue eyes that show the warmth hidden under your cold exterior." Weiss gently brought her hand up to her scar before her face flushed red as Ruby's hood before she looked down.

"Blake, well you have your own kind of mysterious beauty. Your amber eyes seem to peer directly into my soul and see who I really am. Your whole stoic demeanor just puts me at ease and seeing you read all the time shows how intellectual you are. And your bow accents your hair very well but I'd wager you'd look better without it." Blake hid behind her book trying to hide her own blush. All the girls were taken aback, Jaune always spoke with so much honesty that they all knew he truly felt this way towards them. But he was in no way hitting on them, it was nice to be complimented respectively and not like pieces of meat.

"And what about me?" Yang was getting impatient waiting for her turn.

"Well, Yang, you have a very beautiful laugh that just seems to brighten the room and makes me want to make you laugh as often as possible. Your lilac eyes are just as pretty and when they switch to that red, well they are somewhat scary but they show your feelings in the realest way. But I'd say your most outstanding feature is your hair. It's so bright and shines so beautifully in the light, also its very soft."

Yang was taken back slightly, "How do you know what my hair feels like?"

"Yang, you slept on top of me and my hand moved to your back when we slept. I felt it then, remember?"

She blushed slightly but continued, "I don't let anyone touch my hair. You're lucky I didn't pummel you."

Jaune bowed slightly, "Than I'm honored you didn't and gave me that honor, Sun Fire." He smiled at her.

She blushed a bit more but before anyway could say anything, Nora came into the conversation. "See? That's our Jaune, he's always been like this! That's why Amber fell for him!" Her eyes widened and she quickly put her hand on her mouth. Ren's eyes widened and everyone turned to Jaune who had his head down. He slowly got up after a minute or so, and his hair hid his eyes.

"I'll see you guys later." He started making his way back to the door.

"I'm sorry." That was all Nora said. Jaune just raised his hand and waved, 'It's alright' is what that meant. As he left Nora looked down, "I'm a big dummy."

Ren gently patted her on the back, "He knows you didn't mean anything by it, Nora. He's just hurting." She nodded but didn't look up.

Jaune walked around Beacon trying to calm himself and clear his head. He knew she didn't mean anything by it, it just hurt. Amber was Ren and Nora's friend but they never brought her up because Jaune was hurting so much. He hated that because they had to be silent about their closest friend besides the three of them. He wished he'd be able to move on but he just couldn't. Not yet.

After a while, Jaune went to grab his things before heading to the library to meet Ruby, that was if she was still going to be there. As he was making his way through the library looking for her, he went around a corner and he bumped into someone. The someone almost fell but he caught them, "I'm so sorry. Blake?" Yup, there was Blake. Stopped halfway to the floor by Jaune's arms wrapped around her waist. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Jaune helped her to stand. "I'm sorry again."

"It's fine, Jaune. But what are you doing here?" she asked politely.

"Well, me and Ruby were supposed to meet up to knock out some of our assignments. Also, I was gonna see how she was handling her role as leader so far." Jaune added sheepishly.

"That's very considerate of you, Jaune. Mind if I ask you something I've been curious about though?"

"I don't see why not."

"Why do you care for Faunus so much and why do you fight for them so passionately?"

Jaune stopped for a second to think carefully, he wanted to answer but didn't want to give all the details, "Well, as I said before, someone Ren, Nora and I knew was a Faunus and we saw her go through a lot. But she never fought back due to the fact that it would just cause more problems in the long run. So I swore that if I could help any Faunus, I would. If they couldn't fight, I'd do it for them. This is the burden that I swore to carry. It's the least I could do, considering…" Jaune looked away at that point.

Blake was looking at him and absorbed his words. She was stunned that a human could care for Faunus in way like this. It gave her hope and made her happy. Truly happy. She smiled, "That's very honorable of you."

Jaune looked at her and smiled sheepishly, "Thanks, Blake. So, why are you here? Reading?"

She nodded, "Yup, I wanted to read in peace without Yang or Weiss bothering me." Her eyes widened a bit and started to frantically look for something. "Oh no, where is it?"

Jaune looked down and by his feet was a book. He leaned over to pick it up and read the title, "Ninjas of Love." He opened it to the bookmarked page and started reading.

Blake stared in horror. There was nothing she could do, Jaune was reading where she left off and it was at one of the more heated parts. She couldn't play it off in anyway. She didn't want anyone to find out about her preference to reading but it was too late. He'd look down on he for it, she just knew it. She closed her eyes and waited for it.

"One of the best parts of the book."

Blake blinked, "W-what?"

Jaune gestured to the book in his hand, "You've gotten to one of the best parts of the book. The two characters are finally able to express their love for each other. Its romantic." He smiled.

Blake's mind started to catch up. "Wait, you've read it before?"

Jaune nodded, "Yeah. I picked it up a while ago on accident and loved it. Although, Nora teased me mercilessly about it." He chuckled slightly before sighing. "I never finished it though. Forgot it when I came to Beacon." He handed Blake her book and she accepted it, bringing it close to her chest.

"Can you not tell anyone about this? Please?" she looked at him practically begging.

"Sure. No problem."

"Really?"

"Yeah. What's a favor between friends?"

Blake took a second before she smiled, "Thank you."

"Although, could I ask you for a favor in return?"

"I guess so. What is it?"

Jaune sheepishly scratched his head, "Um, could I borrow it when you're done? It's been bugging me not to know how it ends."

Blake thought for a second, "I don't see why not. Just promise to take care of it."

"Absolutely!" Jaune smiled. "Well, I better find Ruby. See you later, Blake." As they were walking away Jaune didn't see the smile on Blake's face. Jaune looked around for Ruby and eventually found her at a table already starting her work. Jaune grinned at sat next to her. She turned to him with a smile.

"Hey, Jaune. Wasn't sure you'd show up."

"I'd never blow you off, especially since this was my idea. Besides, I have some extra readings to do for Oobleck." He said slightly annoyed.

"Ouch. What happened?"

Jaune sighed, "Cardin said something racist and got under my skin. If not for Oobleck being there, we probably would've started fighting."

Ruby looked at him concerned, "That's not good, Jaune."

"I know, I know. I'm done with the whole situation anyways. Not worth the time and energy."

Ruby smiled, "Good."

The two sat together talking and working with each other. If one had a problem with their assignment, the other usually had the answer. They talked about how their classes were going, how their teams were and how being a leader was treating them. Overall, they had a good night. They were almost done with everything when Jaune looked over to her and saw her nodding off. Made sense, they were working for about 3 hours now. Jaune started packing everything up and stood beside Ruby before gently shaking her. "Hey, Ruby. Let's call it a night."

She looked up at him sleepily and nodded slowly. It was adorable. Jaune was waiting for her to get up when instead she raised her arms slightly and sleepily said, "Can you carry me?" That just added even more cuteness on top of it and he crumbled.

He sighed and kneeled down in front of her with his back to her, "Sure. Get on." She leant against his back and gently wrapped her arms around his neck. He gently held her legs and when she was secure, he stood up and started making their way to the dorms. Jaune was sure Ruby fell back asleep until halfway to the dorms he felt her giggling.

"What's so funny?" he asked turning his head to see her.

"Just glad I got you to carry me." She smirked.

"Wait a minute, you tricked me?" he said flabbergasted.

"Maybe." Was her only response with her tongue sticking out playfully.

"Hmmmm. And why shouldn't I drop you?"

"Because you're not that mean."

Jaune turned his head back to look where he was going, "You're just lucky you're so light." She giggled more at that. Jaune walked for a bit longer before he spoke again. "Since I'm carrying you and you tricked me, I say that you owe me an answer to a question."

"That sounds fair." she said still very amused.

Jaune took a minute to figure out how to phrase it. "What's up with you and Yang? You've been a little annoyed with her lately." Ruby was quiet. Jaune thought she wasn't going to answer, so he decided not to push. Until he felt her bury her face into his back and mumbled something. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Ruby turned her head slightly, "I'm not annoyed. I'm worried." Before he could ask she continued. "You were my first friend here, Jaune, I'm worried you're going to replace me with Yang. She's cooler, older, prettier and you gave her a nickname. Why wouldn't you want her to replace me?"

Jaune was shocked. "Ruby." He sighed before continuing. "You're a fool." He felt he jump up slightly. "Yang might be that but you're my first friend I made besides Ren and Nora. No matter what happens or who I meet, that'll never change." He turned to her and smiled. "That's another reason why you're precious to me."

Ruby stared at him for a second before she had a massive smile. "Thanks, Jaune, I needed to hear that."

He patted her head before turning his head again, "Anytime."

They were quiet for a bit before Ruby spoke up again. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

He could feel her fingers fiddling with each other by his neck before she started speaking nervously, "You were saying how the others were beautiful. Well, umm, do you see me like that?"

"Yes. Sometimes I see you and you just look adorable and I know you know you are." He smirked before he continued. "Your hair is also beautiful, the red and black frames your face very well. Also, your still two years younger but there is no doubt that in no time you'll give Yang a run for her money. But, most of all are your eyes. Their silver color is beautiful and almost hypnotic. They clearly show all the happiness and hope you hold inside you. So, yes Ruby, you're beautiful." He turned to look at her and saw she was staring wide eyed at him with her face as red as her hood. He turned back around so she could get her senses back. They were almost to their rooms when she spoke again.

"Jaune?"

"Yes, Ruby?" He turned his head and felt her lips press against his cheek. She quickly buried her face back into his back before she held him a little tighter with a content smile and a small blush. He blushed slightly but than he smiled. She didn't say anything and neither did he. They just enjoyed the time they had with each other before they'd have to call it a night.


	14. Field Trip

Jaune woke up early the next morning, even for him. He checked his scroll and saw that it was 5 in the morning. He debated going back to sleep but decided against it. This was the perfect time to go to the roof and watch the sunrise. He got out of bed and silently stretched before sliding on his shoes and silently leaving the room without waking his team. He made his way to the dorm's common room to get some coffee before heading to watch the sunrise. He made a pot of coffee and filled a mug before he made his way to the roof. Once there he sat on the edge and waited for the sun. He was sipping at his coffee and it reminded him of the times he'd do the same with his teacher. He smiled slightly before he heard the door open. He turned to see a very sleepy Pyrrha standing there. She was wearing her pajamas, which was a t-shirt too big for her and shorts.

He smiled at her, "Morning. Did I wake you?"

She shook her head and made her way to Jaune, "No, I had to use the bathroom and noticed you were missing. Why are you up this early?"

He pointed to the horizon, "Waiting for the sunrise. Wanna join me?" She nodded and sat next to him, she shivered slightly and yawned. Jaune held his coffee up to her. "This may help with waking you up and keeping you warm.

She looked at the cup then at Jaune, "You sure?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Although, it's black so it might be bitter."

"I don't mind and thank you." She smiled as she took the cup. She blushed right after she took a sip because she realized she just got an indirect kiss from Jaune. She looked back to Jaune and he was smiling at her.

"That any better?"

She nodded, "It's helping. It's still a bit a chilly though." Before she knew what was going on, Jaune had slid right next to her and put his arm around her. She blushed intensely, "Jaune, what are you doing?!"

He looked at her. "Keeping you warm. Can't have my partner getting sick, right?" He smiled at her and she bashfully nodded before drinking a bit more of the coffee, still blushing. Not long after that the two were watching the sun rising above the horizon of Vale. The sky was a perfect combination of red and gold. The two sat in a comfortable silence, Jaune unconsciously pulled Pyrrha closer to him and she instinctively leaned into him more. The silence was broken a bit later when the sunrise was practically over. "Well, I have to say, that was probably one of the top three sunrises I've seen."

Pyrrha looked at him, "How many have you seen?"

He shrugged, "I've lost count. My teacher was an earlier riser than me and we started watching them together." He smiled at that.

She smiled back, "You must really care about her."

"I do." Before the conversation could continue, Jaune stole back his coffee from Pyrrha and started drinking it.

"Hey! I thought you gave that to me?" She was slightly annoyed at that and she was blushing because now Jaune was having an indirect kiss from her.

"I did but I decided to take it back." He smirked at her and drank the last of the coffee. Pyrrha tried to get the mug back but Jaune moved it just out of her reach. She kept reaching and Jaune kept it just out of her reach until the two fell back on the roof. Pyrrha was now on top of him and when she rose up slightly, Jaune had his breath taken away. There was Pyrrha with her hair still down, set just in front of the rising sun. Giving her hair and herself an angelic glow. She looked absolutely gorgeous. The way Jaune was looking at her was causing her to blush more. He reached up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear and the two just stared at each other. Jaune finally found his voice and he found himself nervous. "We may wanna get ready for the day."

Pyrrha was brought back to reality with that. She nodded before she got up and offered her hand to help Jaune up which he accepted. He picked up the mug as she said, "We do have that field trip to Forever Fall today."

Jaune snapped his fingers and nodded his head at that. "Right, I knew I was forgetting something. Well, in that case, I'll make breakfast for our team and RWBY."

They were making their way back to the dorm and Pyrrha looked at him in slight shock, "I didn't know you could cook?"

"Both Ren and I do. Nora tried to learn but it just never worked out." He shuddered slightly at the memory.

They arrived at their dorm room, Jaune went to open the door and as he did he was tackled by Nora. She ran into him harder than she thought and with Jaune not expecting it they both fell backwards with him hitting his head against the wall next to RWBY's dorm with an audible thump. Jaune's head was spinning with that and his head was so jumbled he couldn't make out what she was saying, he just knew she was being loud. He put his hand over her mouth as he was gripping his head. "Nora, stop. My head is killing me, let my aura fix this first." She nodded as he took his hand away and was waiting for his aura to fix his pounding head.

The door next to them opened and RWBY came out, minus Yang. They saw Jaune laying on the ground holding his head and Nora next to him. Ruby was instantly by his side. "Jaune, are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah. I hit my head but my aura is already dealing with it." He placed his hand on the wall and leaned on it to help him stand. "I should be fine. Sorry if I woke you three."

"It's okay." Ruby replied. "As long as you're okay."

"I'm still annoyed that I was rudely awoken." Weiss said slightly above a whisper.

Jaune heard this though. "Breakfast will make up for it. My treat."

Nora was hugging him now. "You're gonna make breakfast, Jaune? Awesome! You make the best breakfast!" Jaune patted her head with a smile.

"I was gonna make breakfast for my team and was going to invite you girls as well. Interested?"

"What are we having?" Weiss asked.

"Eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns and maybe pancakes if Ren is up for it." He turned to his dorm to see Ren leaning on the door frame. No one even notice him appear. He thought for a second and nodded. "Great. Plus, there's orange juice, milk and coffee already made in the common room."

"Is there tea?" Blake asked. Jaune nodded.

"So what time is breakfast?" Ruby asked.

Jaune pulled out his scroll, it was 6:15 "Let's say, 7:30?" He looked up at everyone and they all nodded. With that they all went back to their rooms, Jaune made sure to pick up the mug he dropped and set it on his desk to bring it back. Around 7 both teams were making their way to the common room. Everyone sat down while Jaune and Ren started cooking while the girls set the table. Jaune placed the plates of food down in the center with the gallon of milk, carton of orange juice, pot of coffee and kettle of tea so everyone could help themselves. Everyone pretty much grabbed a little of everything, except for Nora who had a whole stack of pancakes for herself. When the meal was over everyone was satisfied.

"Wow, Hero. You're one hell of a cook." Yang said.

Jaune was enjoying his third cup of coffee, "Thank you, Sun Fire." He smiled at her. "I'm just glad I went to Vale to pick up everything a few days ago."

"You had this all planned out, impressive." Weiss added.

"I'm not just a warrior, nice guy and semi decent in the looks department, Snow Angel."

"Semi decent?" Yang questioned.

Jaune shrugged. "I don't see what some people do. I honestly don't think I look all that great."

"Well you do." Everyone turned to Ruby as she said that. With all the attention and the memory from the night before she blushed.

Jaune smiled at her. "Thank you, Ruby. I think you earned another batch of those cookies."

Next thing he knew Ruby appeared in his lap in a flurry of rose petals. "Really?"

Jaune nodded, "Although, I used all the chocolate chips last time. So, I'll have to break up some chocolate bars to substitute them. That alright?"

She nodded and gently laid her head on his chest as she hugged him, "That's perfect." Jaune smiled and everyone else just stared at this new sight. Yang and Pyrrha had slightly annoyed looks for obvious reasons. The touching scene was interrupted when Nora snapped a picture of them on her scroll.

"This is sooo cute!" She shouted.

Ruby buried her face into Jaune's shirt and Jaune gave her an annoyed look. "Really, Nora? Another picture?" She just nodded with a huge grin. Jaune sighed, "Same for the last, just don't send it around the school." He drank the last of his coffee and checked his scroll for the time. "Well, we have some time before we have to meet Goodwitch. Wanna head to the locker room to grab our gear?" Everyone agreed and they started making their way there. Before Jaune was out the door, someone small jumped on his back. He turned and his eyes met silver. "Ruby?"

"Yes, Jaune?" she said cheerily.

"Do I really need to carry you again?"

"Please." she asked adorably.

He sighed again and started walking while carrying her. "So lucky you're cute."

She pumped her fist with a small blush at that. Yang and Pyrrha walked next to them analyzing and wondering just what the hell happened between those two. They all arrived at the locker room, they grabbed their gear and made their way to where they were supposed to meet Goodwitch. Once Team CRDL showed up, they made their way to Forever Fall. Jaune could feel Cardin staring at him but he just ignored him. He was done with wasting energy on him.

Once they reached a certain spot, Goodwitch started giving them their instructions. "Alright students, Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so. Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay with your teammates. We will rendezvous back here later. Have fun!"

Team CRDL split off from the other two teams but they didn't really care. They were all enjoying their time and were leisurely gathering the sap. Until Nora got mad at Ren for not letting her drink more of it and threw the tap higher up the tree than any of them could grab it. Jaune was about to climb the tree when someone else jumped on his back and he almost fell face first into the tree. He managed to correct himself but the person almost fell off his back. He reflexively went to grab their legs to prevent that but his hand went a bit higher than he intended. Jaune blushed but before he could move his hands, the person leaned forward and whispered into his ear. "Didn't think you had it in you, Hero."

Jaune blushed deeper. "I didn't mean to, Yang, and why did you jump on my back?"

"So I could reach the tap." She smirked and slowly started to move to stand on his shoulders and started to reach for it. Jaune was trying to keep them balanced but when Yang jerked the tap out, she slipped slightly and fell. Jaune moved and caught her in his arms bridal style.

He looked down at her, "You okay?"

She had a slight blush but nodded. He set her down and as she stood she leaned close to his ear. "You didn't grab my ass this time. Shame." She smirked and Jaune blushed again before he sighed. Jaune then heard what sounded like something flying through the air. He looked and before he knew it a glass jar of sap hit the tree behind them and a lot got on him.

"Really?" Before he could complain anymore, he heard the sound of buzzing and saw a swarm of Rapier Wasps flying at them. He quickly started to run away from the others and they started to chase him. "Good, they're attracted to the sap." Once he was a good distance away from the others he faced the swarm and applied pressure with his right middle finger for Kakiri's handle to be deployed. He reached his fingers to the handle but didn't draw the sword. He activated his Semblance and his eyes shifted to crimson. As the swarm was practically on him, he focused his fire enhanced aura to start heating the air around him. Right as the swarm was about to attack, the air around Jaune burst into flames and the swarm was incinerated while the sap still on him was burnt away. Jaune exhaled and his eyes shifted back to normal. He was about to meet back with the others when he felt pain shooting through his neck. He reached up and pulled out a Rapier Wasp. "Damn it." He dropped it to the ground and stomped on it.

He gripped his neck in pain as the others found him. "Jaune, are you okay?" said Pyrrha, Ruby and Yang almost in complete sync.

"Yeah but I got stung by a Rapier Wasp."

"Damn that Cardin!" shouted Nora.

"Cardin?" he looked at them all with a quizzical look.

Yang answered him, "That bastard threw a jar of sap at you and released the wasps. We saw him laughing afterwards. But we took care of him." She grinned menacingly.

"What did you do?" he asked slightly worried.

Ruby spoke next, "Yang, Nora, Pyrrha and I threw our glass jars at him."

Jaune started laughing at that. Until they heard screaming and saw the rest of Cardin's team running towards them. Yang grabbed Russel and held him up in front of her. "You guys have some nerve showing your faces here."

Russel started sweating, "It was all Cardin's idea! Besides, he stuck back there fighting an Ursa Major!"

Jaune's eyes widened and he looked at where they ran from. His eyes hardened in determination. "Ren, Nora, go with the rest of CRDL and get Goodwitch. Pyrhha, come with me. We gotta give Cardin a hand." He ran in that direction with Pyrrha following him Ruby told Weiss to follow her and for Yang and Blake to go with Ren and Nora. When they found Cardin, he was being pinned against a tree by a huge Ursa Major with his mace by his feet. Jaune quickly applied pressure with his left pinky and drew Dokiri with his left hand and pointed his right hand forward as his eyes shifted brown. A rock pillar popped out between Cardin's feet and hit the Major in the chest pushing it back and Jaune decapitated it with Dokiri. As it fell he looked down at Cardin breathing ragged and covered in sap. He was about to give him a piece of his mind when he heard growling behind him. They all turned to see dozens of Ursai, both Minor and Major coming into the clearing.

Things just got serious.


	15. Five vs Ursa

Ursai, both Minor and Major, started coming into the clearing. The sheer numbers were just baffling. There had to be fifty so far in the few minutes they were there and they were practically surrounded. Jaune took a deep breath and applied pressure with his right index for all the sheathes besides Dokiri's shifted to his right shoulder and he drew Suikiri, His right eye shifted to the darker blue and he held both his swords tightly. "We just need to hold them off for the others and Goodwitch to show up. Until then let's play this smart, cover each other. Everyone ok with that?" Ruby, Weiss and Pyrrha nodded. Cardin picked up his mace and nodded begrudgingly.

At that moment an Ursa Major charged at them. Jaune met it and dodged its paw while slashing its throat. He used Dokiri to bring up rock pillar to launch himself into the air and as he was rising, he fired water blasts into the Ursas with varying effects. As he came down, he slammed Dokiri into the ground to create a huge earth wave towards the Ursa. The ones in the front were crushed but the others just climbed over the rock and other Grimm to get to them. Bullets started flying into them curtesy of Ruby and Pyrrha, Weiss started to use her Glyphs as well. Cardin joined Jaune where he stood, they shared a look and started carving into the Grimm. Jaune was able to dodge most of the Grimm's attacks and any he didn't he could shrug off due to the earth enhanced aura.

After impaling yet another Ursa, he looked around to see how the others were fairing. Cardin seemed to be having a little problem with the numbers but was fine for now. Ruby and Pyrrha were now alternating between melee and long range attacks. Weiss was using her Glyphs sparingly while also fighting on the front lines. Meanwhile, Ursai were still coming. 'How is this possible? The sap on Cardin couldn't possibly be enough to draw all these Ursai to us. Wait...' He looked closer at Cardin and saw just how angry he was. 'Negative emotions.' He grabbed the left side of his neck in pain from where the wasp stung him. "Cardin, you need to calm down! Your negativity is drawing more to us!"

"Shut it, Arc! I'll fight how I want to!" he shouted in anger as he caved an Ursa's head in.

Before he could argue, another Ursa was on him. He used Dokiri to hold it back and placed Suikiri right under its chin and fired a water blast. Its head was practically split in half after that. Two more were right behind it and he stabbed Dokiri into the ground and fired two rock spears into their chests, killing them. He heard a scream of pain and turned to see Pyrrha take a hit and her aura was getting low. Jaune snapped, he used Dokiri to form many earth spikes behind the Ursas and shot off towards Pyrhha with his aura, using Suikiri to control all the water he had summoned so far. When he was in front of her, he swung Suikiri and the water pushed most of the Ursai into the spikes. Without saying a word, he walked over to Cardin and spun him around.

"Wha-!?" that was all he could say before Jaune hit him in the temple with the pommel of Suikiri. He fell to the ground, out cold. Everyone looked at him in shock.

"Jaune?! Why'd you do that!?" Ruby questioned him.

"His negativity was drawing more Grimm. Plus, I really wanted to do that." He turned back to the Grimm. "There's still a lot. You guys should step back a bit. This is gonna get messy." He started walking forward as he closed his eyes while everyone was questioning him, but he ignored them for now. He focused on the energies of the crushing earth and flooding water inside his aura. He started to fuse the energies and when they were about to completely fuse, he combined his two swords together. A burst of green light erupted from him and the grass and trees around them that were usually red started to glow the same color. As the light died away, the three girls saw Jaune standing there with Dokiri and Suikiri now a double edged longsword with the circuits and edges glowing green. He opened his eyes and they were green as well. "Flourish, Mokukiri." He raised his left hand and the trees behind the Ursa started glowing green as they twisted and bent until they formed what looked like a hedge wall but out of wood.

"Jaune, what are you doing?" His partner asked him.

He turned to look at them, "Stopping more from coming. Please, you three and Cardin step back a bit. You may not be effected by the energy my Semblance released but it can still be dangerous." They hesitantly started to fall back a bit with the unconscious Cardin. The Ursai started to run forward at that, Jaune raised his hand again and flicked it towards the charging Grimm and the trees to the sides of the Ursai started to fired off foot long wooden spears into them. Twenty Ursai were left after the volley, seven of them were Major. Jaune charged at them, he slashed through the neck of the Ursa in front of him and jumped off of it to get above the Major behind it and impaled it through the head. As it fell, he went to pull Mokukiri free but the left side of his neck and left shoulder had pain shoot through it from the venom of wasp sting spreading.

He barely got Mokukiri free before he was knocked aside by another Major. He hit a tree pretty hard and his aura took a big hit. Jaune slowly rose and placed his left hand on the tree. It started twisting and bending into a large wooden gauntlet around his left forearm and hand. As another Ursa ran up to him, he grew a foot-long wooden spike from the wrist of the gauntlet and stabbed it in the neck. He kicked it off and ran into the fray, killing as many Grimm as possible with either Mokukiri or his wooden gauntlet. He killed another four Minors and two Majors before the pain shot through him again, this time further down his left arm to his elbow. He just had enough time to bring up his gauntlet to stop another Major from biting into him. Next second he heard a gunshot and its head exploded along with a second to his left. He turned and saw Ruby and Pyrrha with their weapons in rifle form. He raised his hand in thanks before the pain shot through him again. He was now on one knee and was breathing raggedly.

"Have to end this now." He slammed his gauntlet into the ground and started spreading roots from it to connect to the roots to as many of the trees around him as possible. He started channeling as much of his aura as possible, his body was glowing green as well as about a dozen trees around him. Even their usual red leaves were green. With a scream, he started to twist the trees into wooden tendrils and used them to either impale or grab the Grimm. He started twisting them together until they formed a twisted wooden spire with the last of the Ursai evaporating from it. His aura stopped and his eyes shifted to blue before he practically dropped his sword from the pain running from the left side of his neck all the way down to his wrist. "The Elemental Feedback can really suck with wood." He said tiredly.

The three girls ran up to him and Pyrrha spoke, "Jaune, are you hurt at all?"

He shook his head tiredly, "Not above the usual. My arm is killing me from the wasp sting and Elemental Feedback but I'm okay. Just stuck." They all looked down at his left hand. Without his Semblance, the wooden gauntlet wouldn't respond to his command and now his arm was stuck. "Ruby? Could you use Crescent Rose?"

Her eyes went wide before she looked at him and nodded slightly. She hooked the blade right above the ground and just below his fingers. She was shaking slightly, "I don't know if I can do this. If I screw up…."

"Ruby." She looked at Jaune in the eyes and she saw he wasn't afraid, "You can do this, trust yourself." She grew confident with his words and nodded. She looked back down and when she was sure she had the angle right, she pulled the trigger. Crescent Rose tore through the wood and Jaune was able to stand properly now. Although with a hunk of wood still around his forearm and hand. "See? Told you." He smiled at her.

Ruby grinned at him. But Pyrrha had another thing on her mind. "Jaune, what about the wood?"

He looked down at it than at her. "This might be something I need your help with, Pyr." He held his arm out to her. She nodded and put the tip of Milo at the end of it near his elbow. She looked up at him to see that he was ready and he nodded. With that she slowly brought Milo down the length of the wood and when she reached the end she started to go up on the other side. When she was done the wood was split in half and fell. He opened and closed his hand a few time but could feel the pain still shooting through him. "Well thank you, Pyrrha, but I think I need to go to the infirmary."

"That's probably for the best." Weiss answered him.

He picked up Mokukiri and split it with only his right hand. He stuck Suikiri into the ground and held out Dokiri to Pyrrha. "Can you put this back?" She took it and put it into the sheathe over his left shoulder. Once that was done, the sheathe slid into alignment with the others. He pulled Suikiri from the ground but kept it on hand. The four started walking over to where they left Cardin against a tree. He began to stir and looked around while holding his head.

"Ow, what happened?" he stopped when he saw the tip of a blade in front of his face. He looked up and saw it was Jaune holding it. "Arc? What-?"

"Shut up." He growled. "Because of you, my friends were put in danger. Do something like this again or put my friends in danger and I won't still my blade. Understand?" He gulped and nodded slowly. Jaune took his blade away and sheathed it. The four left him there and walked to the rendezvous point.

They were quiet until Weiss brought up what they all were thinking. "Did you really mean that, Jaune?"

Jaune shook his head, "No. But he needs to learn. Stupid stunts like that can go horrible out in the field, one mistake can get someone killed. I'll kick his ass if he does something like that but I won't kill him. It would take someone I care about dying for me to do something like that." Next thing they know; Nora has Jaune in a bear hug wondering if he is okay. The rest of the group and Goodwitch are not far away.

"What happened?" Goodwitch wanted answers, now.

Jaune flicked his thumb to the wood spire in the distance. "Ursai showed up and we took care of them. Although, I need to go to the infirmary, Professor."

She looked at the spire then back at Jaune and looked him over. She nodded. "Very well. Miss Nikos, please escort your partner while the rest of us finish up here." She nodded and the two of them started making the trek back to Beacon. She noticed every so often that he would grip his left arm in pain.

"How bad is it, Jaune?" she asked him.

He sighed when the pain subsided, "Not great but not deadly. Rapier Wasp venom can't kill unless in very high doses. It's supposed to cause pain. The venom I was injected with has just spread throughout my arm now, that's all."

Pyrrha looked him up and down questioning, "Jaune, it hasn't been very long since you were stung. How could it spread that quickly?"

"Well, the Elemental Feedback from the Advance Element Wood, causes my body to heal quicker even by my standards. But due to that any outside substances I'm exposed to get absorbed into my body at the same accelerated rate. So the more I was fighting, the more the venom spread."

She looked at him with a mix of worry and annoyance, "If you knew that why'd you use it?"

"It was the only way for all of us to get out of there. Besides, I knew the venom wouldn't kill me and opted to just deal with the pain." He was silent for a bit before he continued, "Plus, those monsters hurt you."

Pyrrha went wide eyed and blushed, "I can handle myself, Jaune." She said slightly on the bashful side.

He nodded, "And so can I. Doesn't mean we might need a hand every so often." The two shared a smile and kept making their way back to Beacon. Once they got there they made their way to the infirmary. The nurse started to look Jaune over as the two took turns telling her what happened. She gave him a shot to take care of the venom. She was almost done with her examination when she held up his left arm.

"How did you manage to get this?" She asked very confused.

Jaune and Pyrrha looked to see an inch thick and four-inch-long wooden splinter stuck in the underside of his forearm. Pyrrha looked at it in awe because it wasn't just stuck into his arm, it looked like his arm healed around it. "My Semblance. When the Ursa bit the gauntlet, it splintered off into my arm." Was all Jaune said and Pyrrha realized what he meant by accelerated healing.

"Well, we need to figure out how to get it out of you safely." Said the nurse.

Jaune shrugged, "It's not in there all that deep. We just need to pull it out and bandage it until my aura heals it."

"Why don't you let the professionals deal with this?" she said in a very arrogant tone. Jaune just looked at her with an eyebrow raised before he grabbed the splinter and pulled it out. He groaned a bit and his arm started bleeding immediately. The nurse and Pyrrha just looked at him in shock. "What the hell!?" she shouted.

"This has happened before and I know what to do. So, can I get some gauze or I'm I gonna bleed all over the place?" He gave her a smirk and she just gave him a look before going to get some. He looked over to Pyrrha with his brow raised and she started to giggle.

After he got his arm wrapped, they realized that they still had some time before their friends would return. They decided to go to the common room so Jaune could make Ruby the cookies he promised her. Jaune was almost done and was about to start breaking up two of the chocolate bars when he noticed Pyrrha was staring at the stack of six with her finger on her lips. He figured out what she was thinking and smiled.

"Feel free to have one or two, Pyr. I only need two anyways." She looked up at him and saw he was serious. She then grabbed one and quickly unwrapped it before starting to eat it with a look of complete happiness. Jaune laughed at her slightly, "Is it that good?" he teased.

She nodded with a small blush, "I love chocolate but my trainers don't let me eat it." She added sadly.

"Well they're not here and I can keep a secret, so feel free to indulge."

She smiled brightly and continued eating the chocolate. Not long after that, Jaune had the two dozen cookies baking and he sat down next to Pyrrha who just finished her chocolate. She turned to him with a smile and he noticed she had a small amount smudged on the corner of her mouth. He brought his thumb up to it and wiped it away before licking it off his thumb. She blushed fully at that. But the moment was ruined when Ruby burst into the room in a flurry of rose petals and she said one word. "Cookies!"

Jaune just laughed at her antics and Pyrrha was wishing she had a little bit more time with her partner alone. But she soon smiled, 'I wonder if he got the best partner or did I?' she thought before the rest entered the room.


	16. Scars

It was Sunday now, Jaune had woken up slightly after Pyrrha this morning which was odd. But considering he exhausted himself the previous day, he chalked it up to a fluke. Jaune changed quickly and was about to leave but Pyrrha stopped him. "You don't want to shower first, Jaune?" she asked.

The turned back to her, "Not yet. I wanna train my Semblance a bit this morning. No point showering before a workout." He smiled at her.

"Would you mind if I join you?"

Jaune sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "Actually I do." Pyrrha looked saddened before Jaune quickly continued, "It's nothing to do with you, Pyr. It's just when I start working with the new elements, they can sometimes get out of hand and it can sometimes be dangerous for anyone else."

She looked up quickly, "What about you?"

"The first time I use an Advance Element is the most dangerous. The risks go down after that so I should be relatively safe." She still looked unsure so he held out his hand, "Here, give me your scroll." She handed it to him and he took his out, after tapping on his screen for a bit Pyrrha's got an alert. "There. If my aura goes into the red, you'll get an alert and my GPS. So, you can safe me this time." He said with a smirk before handing her scroll back to her.

She looked at her scroll then back at him, "Okay. Just be careful, please."

"Aren't I always?" he said with a smile, until Pyrrha gave him a look. "Alright, alright. I'll be careful." He smiled and left to go grab his swords. He failed to see a certain heiress leave her room slightly after him and follow.

After Jaune grabbed his swords and left his armor behind, he made his way to the edge of the Emerald Forest. It was far enough away to keep away from any prying eyes. He didn't want anyone seeing this. Jaune drew Kakiri and his eyes shifted to crimson. He then stabbed it into the ground and started to focus his fire aura into his hand. A second later a fireball was in his hand, he pointed his palm into the sky and let out a stream of fire. He stopped it a few seconds later. "Okay, that's how I do that. But let's see what else I can do." He created another fireball and threw it at a boulder ten feet away. It slammed into it almost dead center. He threw a dozen with each hand and then tried to send fire blasts from punching. It took a few tries before he got the feel of how to successfully do this. After doing this for a good fifteen minutes, he took a breather. "Okay, that should give my hand-to-hand a boost. Now to the main event."

Jaune walked back over to Kakiri and checked its dust level, it was about two thirds from being full. He pulled a vial of fire dust out of his pocket and unscrewed the pommel of his fire blade before filling it completely. When that was done, he screwed the pommel back into place than drew Fukiri and Dokiri before stabbing them into the ground to the right and left of him respectively. This formed a perfect triangle that Jaune stood in the center of. He sat down in a meditative position and started to focus his aura, once his aura was calmed he started to use his Semblance to absorb the three different dusts around him. Almost immediately, he felt the three energies waring inside of him. The same thing happened when he started learning to hold two different energies inside of him but this was a whole different level. He couldn't exactly calm down and balance the three energies inside of him, so he decided to skip that and to try to fuse them together. It wasn't any better, it felt like two of the energies were trying to fuse and push the other out altogether. He kept trying until the pain became too much and he stopped his Semblance completely.

He was taking deep breathes and was slumped forward slightly. "Forgot how much this hurts." He took a couple of minutes before he tried again with very similar results. On his third try, he started to make progress but not much. He stopped his Semblance and fell backwards with an annoyed groan. "This isn't working at all!"

He was getting mad until a woman's voice echoed in his head, one that was one that meant safety and strength. The voice of his teacher, 'Calm yourself, Jaune, emotions can give you strength but they also force you to make mistakes. This power is yours to master but first you must master yourself.' He smiled slightly at that and sat up. He took a few calming breathes and focused his Semblance once again. He started to force the energies together but found the same resistance. He was about to keep pushing until he shifted the energy inside of him on accident and felt a hint of that power from before. This gave him an idea, instead on trying to force them together he started weaving them together. The process was still painful but it seemed easier. Soon he was done and he could feel the power surge. He opened his eyes and saw that his aura was shifting between brown, light green and crimson. He couldn't see this but his eyes were a combination of those same colors.

He slowly stood up and walked to one of the trees, he started to send aura into his right hand and it was now glowing white. He placed it on the ground and the same pyramid formed around the tree but much smaller, just big enough for said tree. He looked at the tree and closed his fist sending aura into the pyramid and soon it shined that bright white before it was gone along with everything inside of it. But because he was now calm and could sense his aura clearer, he could feel what exactly this new power was doing. It was destroying whatever was inside it at a molecular level. He shuddered slightly at this, no wonder why his body feels like it's being torn apart. He looked down at his hands and slowly sent aura into them and again they shined white. He held them in front of him and started to focus his mind on what he wanted. After a few seconds a cube started to form between his hands, just floating between them. He was proud for a second until the cube started to destabilize. He tried his hardest to keep it stable and started to panic, that was a mistake. As soon as he lost his cool the cube exploded and sent him flying backwards into a tree which almost snapped from the impact.

He groaned in pain, "Damn it. Was making such good progress too."

"Jaune!" he heard someone yelling and turned to see Weiss running over to him. She got over to him and knelt beside him. "Are you okay?!"

After his shock was gone he nodded, "Yeah. I'm good, just sore."

She sighed, "That's good. I thought you killed yourself for a second there, which was moronic." She said trying to slip back into her cold façade.

"How'd you know I was even out here?" He gave her an analytical stare and she looked away but he had an idea, "Did you follow me?"

She started to sound nervous, "Don't get the wrong idea. I thought you'd do something stupid and it's my responsibility to make sure you don't go overboard." She said with confidence.

Jaune smirked for a second and placed a hand under his chin, "Really? And why is it your responsibility? You're not on my team and you aren't my partner." Her eyes went wide and she mumbled something he couldn't hear. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Because you're my friend, you dolt." She said slightly bashfully.

Jaune smiled and gently placed his hand on her shoulder, "Thank you, Snow Angel. That means a lot." She gave him a small smile in return. He started to stand and she started to help him up. When they were both standing up, they looked at each other and she realized how close she was to him before she quickly stepped away. He smiled slightly and went to reclaim his swords.

As he was doing so, Weiss decided to ask him a question, "So, that's the power you used to kill those Grimm in that village?"

He nodded, "Yup. But it's far from perfect. My aura wasn't completely synced with the element."

"What exactly does that mean?" she asked confused.

"For me to have full control of an element, I have to absorb enough of its energy into my aura. When it's done properly my aura shifts to the same color as my eyes. But as you saw, it was fluctuating between the three colors of the individual energies because the energies weren't fused completely. That make sense?"

Weiss nodded, "So if you knew it wasn't fully completed, why try using it?"

"That's just how it works. I need practice with the incomplete form so that way I can use the completed version." He thinks for a second, "Pretty much, I use the experience and knowledge I gain from the incomplete element to help me figure out how to complete it and use it properly."

She nodded again, "That's still dangerous."

Jaune just shrugs, "It's the only way I know how to master it."

She huffed slightly, "So, why are you out here anyways? You could've practiced it anywhere."

"I don't want anyone seeing it. Have to keep my Semblance a secret." He smiled.

Weiss just gave him a glare and was clearly annoyed, "But why? This is clearly dangerous, so why do it where you can't get help if you need it?"

His smile fell and he just looked at her, she wasn't going to give up without an answer. He looked away, "Because I hate seeing what I usually see when people see my Semblance."

Weiss gave him a confused look, "And what is that?"

He looked her in the eyes, "Fear. When people see my power they become afraid of me." He sighed, "And for good reason." Weiss looked stunned and he continued. "My Semblance is dangerous. If I lose control, there's no telling what could happen." He held up his hand and looked down at it. With the last of the elemental energy inside of him created a small cyclone in his hand. "The elements can easily create or destroy. And that choice is up to me. Who in their right mind wouldn't be afraid of that?" And with that he let the cyclone fade and let his hand fall.

"I'm not afraid." He looked back at her and she was looking into his eyes. "I don't trust people easily but you've earned it so much quicker than most. I've seen who you are and how you care for people." She walked closer to him until they were only a foot or two apart. "You're the most genuine person I've ever met, Jaune. I could never be afraid of you." She looked away with a light shade of pink on her cheeks.

Jaune just looked at her and smiled. "Thank you, Snow Angel." She turned back to him and quickly turned away when their eyes met. "Is something wrong?"

She crossed her arms, "I just remember what you said before. I liked the compliment but I don't like when people stare at my scar. Its ugly." She said with a bit of hate behind it.

"Weiss, I don't care about the scar. Besides it's not the worst scar I've seen."

She looked at him, "And what is the worst scar you've seen?" She asked, slightly heated. He looked at her and quickly came to a decision. He reached for the zipper on his hoodie and slowly unzipped all the way down to show his black shirt underneath it. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and slowly started to pull it up. Weiss stepped back slightly, "What are you doing?" She stopped with a gasp as she saw it. With his shirt all the way up she could see his toned chest and stomach. And the huge scar that ran from his right shoulder all the way across to the left side of his waist. The scar was discolored compared to the rest of him and was an inch to an inch and a half wide. She was staring in shock until she heard him speak.

"This is the worst scar I've seen."

She slowly walked up to him again and started to raise her hand to touch it but stopped a couple inches from it. She looked up at him with a question in her eyes and he nodded. She gently touched it and slowly ran he fingers over it. She could feel the ridges of it and figured the wound went deep. No doubt it was extremely painful. She started talking in a shaky voice, "What happened?"

"When I was six, my family went camping. When my younger sisters and I were playing, an Alpha Beowolf attacked us. The only thing I remember is that I jumped in front of my sisters and it cut into my chest." He shuddered slightly at the memory. "Next thing I remember, I was in the hospital. I should've died but my father unlocked my aura just in time."

Weiss looked down at her feet and her hand laid on his chest where his scar was, "I'm sorry."

"I'm not." She looked up at him in disbelief. "This scar is a reminder to me. It reminds me that even at a young age, I would defend those I care about. If not for this, I wouldn't have my aura and I wouldn't be becoming a Huntsman." She saw determination in his eyes before they softened a bit. "This scar was painful but it gave me a lot. All scars leave memories for us to never forget. Bad ones mostly, but sometimes they have good ones too." He slowly raised his hand to her scar, she flinched away for a second before she let him touch it with his thumb and gently cupped her cheek. He was gently rubbing the half below her eye as he spoke, "I don't know how you got this scar and you don't need to tell me but it shows the world that you have what it takes to be a Huntress. It shows that no matter what happens, no matter what pain you may receive, you'll endure it and move on." He smiled at her. "Plus, in my opinion, I don't think it hinders your beauty. Just enhances it."

She just kept staring at him before she closed her eyes and leaned into his hand, "Thank you, Jaune."

"Anytime, Snow Angel." he aid genuinely with a smile.

After a minute or so, she realized how they were standing. She blushed deeply and took her hand away from his chest before stepping back. "This doesn't go beyond here. Got it?"

He nodded with a smile. He let his shirt back down and zipped his hoodie up. "Let's head back." The two walked in silence but it was a comfortable one. Weiss looked up a Jaune and smiled. 'He's a dunce but he's a reliable dunce.'


	17. A Fight Between Partners

It'd been a few months now and Jaune's first semester was wrapping up. He honestly couldn't believe how fast it went and how great it had been. The rumors that used to circulate around had burnt out a long time ago and even Cardin stopped bothering Jaune and Velvet, whether it was out of fear or a serious reality check was unknown to him. But he didn't really care though.

His classes had been going well. He'd been getting high marks in Grimm Studies due to his experience with the creatures of Grimm. Professor Port also didn't call Jaune to show off his skills in class anymore but he did call on him to tell his own experiences he has had with Grimm. He had no problem with that, he could pass on information that could help his fellow students and spare them from the mistakes he had made. He, of course, left out a few details about his Semblance and Nora would add her own input that was either true or an exaggeration. Port never stopped her because if Jaune was his favorite student, although he'd never say that out loud, Nora was a close second. Most of the class enjoyed Jaune's stories but he'd never try to steal the spotlight from Professor Port.

History was still his weakest subject. At one point he thought he was going to fail, until Velvet offered to help tutor him and with her help he improved greatly. He enjoyed his time with Velvet, she was probably his only friend outside his team and RWBY. Although he did have a run in with her team and her leader, Coco, pretty much interrogated him to see if he had any ulterior motives for spending so much time with her teammate. After telling her he would never take advantage of his friends, multiple times, with his usual brand of blunt honesty Coco believed him. But, that didn't stop her from 'chaperoning' their study sessions. Jaune didn't mind though because of that he'd gotten to know all of Team CFVY in some way and considered them his friends. During one of their study sessions, Jaune brought a tray of homemade brownies for them to indulge in. Both girls loved them, Velvet because she loved brownies in general and Coco was shocked to find that Jaune mixed coffee extract in them as well. She was as big of a coffee hound as Jaune, something they bonded over.

He also grew closer to the rest of his friends. Pyrrha eventually got so comfortable with the rest of her team that most would look at JNPR and think they knew each other for years. Although, that comfortability had a hiccup or two. Jaune accidentally walked into the dorm one day to see Pyrrha exiting the bathroom after he shower in only a towel. Which lead to her screaming and using her Semblance to send him out of the room and through RWBY's door into their room. And the other was when Jaune forgot his shirt after his shower and walked out topless and Pyrrha promptly passed out from seeing him like that. The two also sparred two or three times a week on the roof of the dorm to keep each other sharp and to perfect their teamwork. Also, gave Pyrrha the bonus of spending more time with her partner.

He was almost as close with RWBY as he was with his own team. Ruby and Jaune spent time together to do homework and just to talk about the stresses they had with being leaders. They would consider themselves to be best friends but neither one had said that out loud yet. Jaune would spoil Ruby by baking her his cookies and Ruby would have Jaune carry her somewhere at least once a day, much to the ire of a few girls. Yang was the next closest person to him after Ruby. She would drag Jaune to the sparring rooms weekly for them to spar. After they agreed to not use their Semblances, they both thoroughly enjoyed it. Jaune was able to improve his hand-to-hand and Yang learned a few of his unique moves. They grew very close; Jaune would laugh at some of her less terrible puns and he got Yang to laugh on occasions. Yang would still tease him but Jaune would quickly throw it back at her. Although, sometimes he wasn't sure if she was kidding or not but decided he was looking into it too much. Weiss also warmed up to him more after the bonding over their scars. She would still try to act professional and cold at times but an amused smirk from Jaune showed her he wasn't buying it. She did somehow find a way to know when he was working on his Exceed Element, which he decided to call Particle, and she'd watch him to make sure he didn't hurt himself. He appreciated it after he realized he couldn't get her to stop. The only person he wished he was closer to was Blake, they talked more and they discussed Ninjas of Love in private once Jaune had finished it. Both were eagerly waiting for the sequel to come out. But, he felt like she was still keeping space from him and maybe hiding something. He never asked her though, she had the right to keep secrets. He still had a few that his friends didn't know, besides Ren and Nora, of course.

He would honestly say that Beacon was perfect right now. If not for the one class that gave him problems, Combat Class. Not to say that Jaune was a bad combatant, in fact with the student's leaderboards that they made themselves, Jaune was ranked third. With Pyrrha holding first and Yang second. Actually, Teams RWBY and JNPR held the top eight spots for the first years. But the two teams knew that if Jaune would stop holding back he'd probably take second place, possibly first. Which was the reason why he had problems, Professor Goodwitch wanted to push Jaune to his full potential but he'd refuse to show his abilities in full. Over their first semester Jaune had used Suikiri in pretty much every fight, Dokiri the one time against Cardin & Kakiri against Yang after she threatened to steal his hoodie if he didn't fight her seriously. Even then he used his Semblance to the bare minimal.

Which brings him to this day in Combat Class, every student had faced every other student in their year besides their partners and today would be that day. The fights between his friends were the most interesting to him so far. Ren and Nora were pretty even until Ren gave up after Nora was about to use her entire payload against him. Blake and Yang were also very even but eventually lead to Yang winning; Blake couldn't deal enough damage to put Yang down and was only making her stronger. Ruby and Weiss had the closest match, it actually ended in a tie due to the fact that the two ran out of dust and bullets and followed with both dropping into the red at the same time. Which now left, "The last match for today will be between Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos."

They were about to head down when Jaune stopped Pyrrha, "Wanna make this interesting?" he said with a smirk.

She raised an eyebrow at that, "How?"

"How about neither of us use our Semblance and see who is the best fighter?"

Pyrrha thought for a second, "Alright. But if I win, you have to do something for me." She said with a blush.

"You're on!" Jaune said with a smile as the two made it into the arena and took their places. Pyrrha had Milo drawn in its xiphos form with Akouo ready. Jaune got into his stance and drew Raikiri in reflex. They both stood there until Goodwitch called the fight and both charged at each other. The two met in the middle and their swords clashed together so quickly, people only saw sparks and blurs. Until Pyrrha brought Akouo up to stop Jaune's sword but before she could capitalize Jaune kicked off her shield to create distance. Pyrrha followed after him to not allow him the reprieve. When he landed he quickly spun clockwise and when his back was to Pyrrha he swapped Raikiri to his left hand.

Pyrrha assumed that Jaune was spinning to add more force into his swing and brought Akouo to take the impact. She didn't expect him to grab it with his right hand and use his momentum to spin her so her back would now be the target of the swing from his left hand. She was quick enough to bring Milo to lay across he back and stopped the hit. She than continued to spin until her shield came around to hit Jaune in the head, luckily he rolled backwards out of the way. The two stood and analyzed each other for a second and charged again.

Pyrrha was taken aback, she thought she'd have a slight advantage with Jaune using his left hand but he was nearly as good as he was using his right. Plus, now she couldn't use Akouo to stop attacks from his sword due to them coming from her right side. Pyrrha decided to switch Milo into its javelin form to give her an edge. Jaune however kept switching between his two hands to keep her guessing. Until Jaune feinted a slash before dropping and sweeping her legs and as she was falling to the ground, he was rising to deal an overhead slash with his sword back in his right hand. She was able to bring her shield up again but the force from the force behind the attack caused her aura to take a hit as she hit the ground.

She quickly pushed off the ground and rammed Jaune with her shield. As he was sliding back, Dokiri's and Suikiri's sheathes rotated to his left shoulder before he drew Suikiri with his left hand. The two charged at each other and were holding nothing back. Until Jaune crossed his swords and brought both down into a downward slash onto Akouo. Pyrrha pushed back when Jaune was off balance which sent him reeling back and before he could do anything she kicked him away. As he was flying back, he threw Suikiri at Pyrrha which missed her by a hair when she sidestepped it before she responded by throwing Akouo at him. Although by then Jaune had landed on his feet and had Dokiri drawn now to replace Suikiri. He crossed his swords and angled his swords to rebound it away from him and Pyrrha. As soon as he did that he charged and Pyrrha was right there with him with her javelin.

The two kept trading blows until Pyrrha managed to knock Raikiri out of Jaune's hand but Jaune kicked her away and jumped back towards Suikiri, that was still in the ground. Pyrrha rolled out of the kick and now had Milo in rifle form and open fired at Jaune. Jaune was able to pull Suikiri free with his right hand and used his two swords in tandem to deflect most of the bullets, although a few got through. As soon as Pyrrha had to reload Jaune took the opportunity to use his aura to jump high into the air and come down with both his blades Pyrrha rolled out of the way and ran towards Akouo. Jaune landed next to Raikiri so he threw Suikiri one last time before kicking Raikiri up into the air and catching it in a reverse grip before shooting after her with his aura.

Suikiri glanced Pyrrha's shoulder before it embedded itself into the ground again. She quickly picked up her shield before spinning and meeting one last time. The two were fighting in a blur; Pyrrha switching Milo often between its xiphos and javelin form and Jaune switching from his reverse grip to his standard way of holding his sword. Eventually the two got locked in a power struggle until both of them jumped back. Pyrrha quickly threw Akouo and it caught the cross guards of his swords as he crossed them to block it. This caused them to fly from his hand and for the shield to come back to Pyrrha, who was charging him one last time as she caught Akouo. Jaune recovered to draw Kakiri with his left hand, after its sheathe rotated to connect with the other two over his left shoulder, and Fukiri with his right before charging. Pyrrha lead with her shield and Jaune intercepted it by using Fukiri in a reverse grip with the blade laying directly on his forearm and moving both out of the way. Next thing both fighters knew, they were holding their blade at their partner's throat with the other doing the same. Both were breathing deeply until Jaune smiled, "So, draw?"

Pyrrha smiled and nodded, "Draw." They both put their weapons away before they reclaimed Jaune's other three swords. As they were doing that the whole classroom exploded in cheers and whistles. Apparently, they all loved the fight. Jaune flushed slightly at the attention before Goodwitch got their attention.

"I have to agree. That was by far one of the best fights I've seen from any first years. You two should be proud." She gave them a small smile. Both smiled and thanked her, with that the class was dismissed. They met up with their friends and they were all excited after seeing that fight.

Nora quickly pulled Jaune into a tight hug, "Nice job, Fearless Leader! We haven't seen you fight like that in forever!" Jaune just chuckled and returned the hug.

"That was a great fight. It really put me in the mood." Yang said with a grin.

Jaune just sighed, "Yang, I'm exhausted. I don't really want to fight again."

"Who said anything about fighting." She replied with a wink and Jaune immediately blushed before Pyrrha came in to safe him.

"That was very impressive, Jaune. But your sword fighting was more skilled than I usually see, why?"

"That's why I didn't want us to use our Semblance. When I use my Semblance, I focus more on controlling the element and less on my swordplay. But when I don't have to worry about that, my swordsmanship goes back up to where it should be."

"How'd you learn to use your left hand as well as your right?" Weiss asked.

"Oh, back when I started training with a sword my teacher had me use a shield, as well. Don't know why considering she never used one. Anyways, it became apparent that I had no aptitude to use a shield and we focused on just my swordsmanship. She actually called in a friend of her's to teach me ambidextrous sword fighting and with that my dual wielding was improved greatly. And when my fighting style was perfected she gave me my rerebrace to boost my defense on my left side."

"Hmm, who was this friend though?" Blake added.

"Oh, Qrow Branwen." This caused Yang and Ruby to stop. "What?"

"Qrow Branwen?" Yang asked. "Drinks a lot and uses a sword that turns into a scythe?"

Jaune nodded, "Yup. You know him?"

"That is our Uncle!" Ruby shouted. Everyone starred in disbelief.

"Wait a minute. You two are the nieces he told me about." He scratched his chin and thought for a second, "That actually makes sense." He chuckled.

Ruby quickly jumped onto Jaune and hugged him, "This is awesome! Uncle Qrow taught me everything and he taught you too! That makes us sibling students!" She cheered.

Than Nora pulled Ruby off and pulled her into a bear hug, "This is great! Now that means I have a little sister!" Nora cheered as Ruby tried to break free from Nora's hug.

Jaune just laughed until Yang wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him close. "Looks like you've stolen my sister's heart, Hero."

Everyone turned to the two blondes and Jaune was just staring at Yang wide eyed, "What?"

"Well, you help her with everything from homework to leader duties, you bake her great cookies, you carry her around everywhere and now you have the same teacher. You are perfect for each other." She gave them a teasing grin.

"I don't love Jaune!" Everyone turned to see Ruby finally out of Nora's hug, blushing and staring at Yang. "I keep telling you, Yang, he's not my boyfriend! He's my best friend!"

She quickly looked down after that. So she didn't notice Jaune walk over to her until he pulled her into a hug. Jaune started stroking the top of her head gently, "Thank you, Ruby. That means a lot." He leaned down and whispered, "I'd say you're my best friend too but with Nora around that wouldn't be smart." He smiled and Ruby returned both the hug and smile.

"Alright, enough of this." Weiss interjected. "Let's go get something to eat before everything is gone." Everyone agreed and started making their way to the cafeteria, except Ruby who was on Jaune's back again. She was smiling as she buried her head into his shoulder. 'He's my best friend. But is it bad that I hope we'll be more down the line?' she thought to herself.


	18. Secrets

The day was pretty much over, classes were done and everyone was excited to begin the weekend. Weiss had the idea to go down to Vale to see the progress of all the work going into the Vytal Festival. Everyone agreed and all of them were on an airship heading to Vale. While everyone was talking though, Jaune was off to the side using his aura to calm down his motion sickness. It wasn't as bad as last time and maybe eventually he'd get used to flying but today wasn't then. As they were walking around taking in the sights of the beginnings of the Vytal Festival, everyone could tell Weiss was in a good mood.

"The Vytal Festival, this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss said happily.

"I don't think I've seen you this happy before, Snow Angel." Jaune said with a small smile.

She turned to him, "How could anyone not be happy? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances, parades, a tournament! The amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!"

"And now you ruined the fun." Yang sighed and Jaune chuckled slightly.

"Quiet, both of you." Weiss said slightly annoyed.

"The festival sounds great, I'm just worried about the tournament. I've barely kept my Semblance under wraps in class." He sighed as he ran his hand through his hair, "How am I gonna hide it fighting equally and even more experienced teams?"

Everyone looked at him then at each other before Yang spoke up. "You know, you could stop hiding your abilities and finally cut lose, Hero."

Jaune scoffed slightly before walking ahead of everyone, "Don't really want the whole world to fear me before I even become a Huntsman." Everyone looked at each other until Ren sighed.

"Told you it was touchy subject." He said.

They all walked to the edge of the docks and the smell of fish was overpowering to all of them.

"It smells like fish!" Ruby said, pinching her nose.

"Yes it does." Blake said with a small smile.

Jaune raised an eyebrow at her reaction before asking what most were thinking. "So, why exactly are we here?"

Weiss answered shortly after that, "I heard that students from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. As a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it's my duty to welcome them!"

"She also wants to spy on the competition to have the upper hand in the tournament." Blake stated.

Jaune snapped his fingers, "That makes sense."

"No one can prove anything!" Weiss defended herself.

That's when everyone noticed cops standing in front of a dust shop that was recently robbed. They all overheard the detectives discussing the details: the dust was stolen, the money was left behind and this one was the second to be robbed this week. Eventually the White Fang were brought up and Weiss didn't take kindly to that.

"The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates!" she stated.

"What's your problem?" Blake followed up.

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane."

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're just misguided."

"Misguided? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!"

"So they're very misguided!"

Jaune decided to step between the two of them, "Okay. Why don't you two calm down before someone says something they'll regret." He looked at both of them in the eyes and they seemed to calm down until they all heard a commotion coming from the docks. They turned to see a monkey Faunus running from two officers. As he was running by them, he winks at Blake.

"Well, there goes the competition." Yang said trying to defuse the situation.

"Quick, we have to catch him!" Weiss was about to run after him before she turned to Jaune. "Jaune, use your Semblance! You'll catch him with no issue!" Jaune just raised an eyebrow and nodded before he deployed Raikiri's handle. He placed his hand on the handle long enough to absorb the dust he needed and his eyes shifted to yellow. He then took off in a burst of lightning after the Faunus. As he ran past the officers, he saw the Faunus running down an alley. He followed and got in front of him. He stopped and the Faunus had to skid to a stop to not run into him.

"Whoa, where'd you come from?!" he asked.

"Better questions, who are you and why are you running from the cops?"

"Look, man, I'm a student from Mistral. I came here to participate in the tournament with my team. I just stowed away on that ship to get here. That's all, I swear!"

The cops started running down the alley and Jaune decided he believed him. He stepped to the side, "Go on. I'll buy you time." He grinned at him as he touched Dokiri's handle and his left eye turned brown.

"Dude, you rock! Thanks! Name's Sun Wukong by the way!" He said as he ran past him.

"Jaune Arc!" he shouted in return before he pulled up the ground in front of the officers enough for them to trip over. As they did, Jaune flashed past them and started to head back to the others. He caught up to them and found that there was now an orange hair girl with them. And Weiss and Blake were arguing again.

"Hey." he said to everyone.

"Back already? What about the Faunus?" Yang asked.

He shrugged, "He's apparently from Mistral and is a student here for the festival. So I gave him a hand and let him go. These two at it again?"

"Yup." Ruby and Yang said in unison.

"Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He's a person!" Blake shouted in anger.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can too?" replied Weiss.

"Stop it!"

"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time and he'll probably join up with the White Fang!" Jaune now understood what they were talking about and he was getting annoyed. But decided he should stay out of this before he got mad and mate things worse. They all decided to head back to Beacon and the two never stopped arguing. Jaune was starting to get more and more frustrated with Weiss but kept to his guns and stayed out of it. The whole time, Ren and Nora kept glancing at Jaune to see if he'd jump in. They both hoped he wouldn't because when Jaune got mad, things never ended well. As they got back to the dorms, the two were just getting more heated, Jaune just took a deep breath to calm himself before he got Ruby's attention.

"Hey, Ruby, do you want back up for that?" He waved his hand to their dorm where the two just went into.

"Thanks, Jaune, but I think we can handle it. I don't think you know much about girl arguments." Ruby said and Yang nodded.

Jaune raised an eyebrow which felt like the millionth time today, "Again, seven sisters and Nora." He pointed to her who just smiled. "I know how to deal with angry women." Ruby and Yang looked at each other before they nodded. Jaune followed the two into their room as the rest of JNPR stood in the hall with the door still open.

"It's because of people like Cardin and you that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!" Blake shouted.

"People like me?" Weiss asked in shock.

"You're discriminatory!"

"I'm a victim!" Weiss shouted and everyone stopped. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang, why I don't particularly trust the Faunus? Because they've been at war with my family for years. Since I was a child, I've watched family and friends disappear, board members executed, an entire train car of dust stolen. And every day my father would come home furious. Which made for a very difficult childhood."

"Weiss." Ruby said to try and comfort her.

"NO!" she shouted and stopped Ruby. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves and murderers!"

"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Silence is what was met with that. Weiss stepped back in surprise and Blake looked at everyone in realization. Everyone was shocked but Jaune came to his senses first.

"Blake…" he said as he reached forward before she dashed out the open door and past the rest of JNPR.

"Blake, wait! Come back!" Ruby shouted as she ran to the door.

Everyone was still in shock and was still processing when Weiss spoke. "I can't believe it. One of _them,_ on my team." She said with a mix of pain and venom in her voice.

Everyone then heard a growl and felt a pressure around them. Three people had felt this before: Nora, Ren and Weiss. Everyone turned to see Jaune's aura acting like a white inferno and he was clearly angry. "That's all you have to say, Weiss? Just a simple truth of her past comes out and you're ready to hate her? Not even gonna get the full story but you're gonna just write her off?" Jaune was looking at Weiss and his voice was barely above a whisper but everyone could hear him. No one moved and everyone just stared. "If you weren't my friend, I would be tempted to throw you out that open window behind you, like every other racist I've run into." Everyone was shocked with that.

"Jaune, maybe you should calm down." Pyrrha said, trying to defuse the situation.

"NO!" Jaune shouted and his aura grew brighter as he looked at Pyrrha and his team. They looked at him slightly fearful. "I'm tired of this!" He looked at everyone in the room before continuing. "You all wanted to know why I defend Faunus? Why I hate racists? Well the truth is, that when I ran away from home the only person to give a damn about me and cared for me was a Faunus!" Everyone was still in shock and he continued. "Yeah, the person that taught me everything I know, taught Nora and Ren everything they know. The person that cared for us like her own, saw us like her children. Our teacher was a Faunus!"

"Jaune, please calm down." Ren tried to stop him. But Jaune just ignored him.

"We saw her, the kindest person we know, try to help everyone she could. And practically everyone treated her like shit! No matter what she did or where she went, that's what she had to deal with. We wanted to stop it, to fight for her. But every time, we tried she'd stop us. Saying, 'Things won't always be like this.' She never let it get to her and we trusted her and obeyed her wishes. As much as it made us sick to see. And do you know what happened?"

"Jaune, stop." Nora begged him.

"A village we were passing through got overrun by Grimm. Even after all the soldiers there treated her as an animal, as a monster, she wanted to help them. But, the first chance they got, they ran! They turned their backs on someone risking everything to save them! They betrayed her! And all we could do was watch as she was killed by those damned creatures!" Jaune shouted and everyone was just further shocked by Jaune's tale. No one said a word, the only sound was Jaune's ragged breathing. Until everyone heard a whimper. Jaune turned and his anger faded instantly when he saw what happened. There was Nora, holding onto Ren tightly and crying her eyes out. Ren was holding her and trying to hold back his own tears. Jaune's heart broke, "Ren. Nora." He said in a whisper and he slowly reached out to them before he stopped. He clenched that hand into a fist before he ran past Weiss and jumped out the open window.

He rolled out of the fall and started running. Someone shouted for him but he kept running, using his aura to make himself faster. He stopped in front of the statue in front of Beacon. He was doubled over trying to catch his breath. "I'm an idiot. How could I bring that up? Especially in front of those two. I'm supposed to be their friend, their brother, their leader. And I pull that?" Tears started to run down his face. "I'm a joke." He said as he cried quietly. Until he heard someone behind him.

"Jaune?" He turned quickly to see Blake with her own tears. He looked up when he noticed her bow was missing and he saw her black cat ears. He looked at them for a second before he met her eyes. He quickly wiped his eyes.

"Blake, are you okay?"

She looked at him for a few seconds, "I should ask you the same thing."

He looked down and a few tears fell again before he looked back up at her, "I think we're in similar boats. Said things we didn't want to say, at least not yet. I ran but I really don't wanna be alone." He held his hand out to her. "Do you?" She looked at his hand for a second before looking back into his eyes and taking it.

The two left Beacon and when they got to Vale, Jaune paid for a hotel room for them. The room wasn't too great. Had a queen sized bed, a couch, a decent tv and a bathroom. Blake was about to offer to take the couch but Jaune had already collapsed onto it and fell asleep. Blake just looked at him for a bit before she went to the bed and also fell asleep. Neither knew what would happen next. All they did know was that they were exhausted and would figure things out tomorrow. But at least they weren't alone in this.


	19. Memory Lane

Blake woke up the next morning with a start. She didn't remember why she was in a hotel room until the memories of the day before came back to her. She was saddened when thinking about what happened. She looked around the room to look for Jaune but didn't see him. She assumed he left at some point and this hurt her. She understood why he'd leave but it hurt all the same. She'd thought after yesterday, that he'd at least tell her if he was leaving.

She than heard the shower running in the bathroom and she realized that it had to be Jaune. She sighed in relief. She wasn't ready to talk about yesterday but it was nice to have someone. To not be alone. The shower stopped a few minutes later and Jaune came out topless drying his hair. Blake blushed seeing his toned body but then her eyes widened when she saw the huge scar running across his chest. When Jaune was done with his hair, he saw that Blake was up and staring at him. He followed her gaze and saw she was looking at his scar. He looked back up at her and she now had an apologetic look but Jaune just gave her a reassuring smile. He motioned to the bathroom with his head, "Bathroom's all yours, Blake." He said as he made his way over to the couch to put on his black shirt and hoodie. Blake nodded before she made her way to the shower.

The two of them spent the day just exploring Vale and enjoying the decent weather. Neither really said anything besides small talk. They had enough on their minds and were just glad to have someone close, just in case. The two made their way to a park in the middle of Vale, they sat down on a bench and just enjoyed the sunshine. Until Jaune's scroll went off, again. When the two left Beacon they shut off the GPS on their scrolls. Blake was getting messages and calls from Ruby and Yang nonstop, so eventually she decided to just shut it off. Jaune was getting just as many from Pyrrha, not from Nora and Ren but that wasn't surprising. They were either still hurt or knew Jaune needed space. Around the time Blake shut off her scroll, Ruby and Yang started messaging him as well. He eventually had enough and took out his scroll to send a message to all three.

Jaune: Girls, I'm fine. Blake and I are just staying in Vale. We need some space to clear our heads. We'll be back soon so don't worry. We'll be fine.

Blake was watching Jaune type and was worried he was going to say where they were. She wanted to see her team and friends but she just wasn't ready. Not yet at least. Jaune saw her staring at him and he showed her the message he typed out. She looked at him when she was done and he raised an eyebrow, asking her a question. She nodded in response and he sent the message. The two spent the rest of the day in the park and when the sun went down they made their way back to the hotel. Jaune sat down on the couch to watch tv and Blake sat down next to him reading a book. They just sat there in a comfortable silence. Blake looked over to Jaune and she was still in disbelief. His presence just somehow calmed her. Even though she was worried and freaking out, Jaune just being near was enough to relax her. She smiled slightly before she went back to her book.

An hour later Jaune was brought out of his train of thought when he felt something lean against him. He looked to see Blake had fallen asleep and was now leaning against him. He looked at her sleeping face and smiled, she was adorable. He gently picked her up in a bridal carry and brought her over to the bed. He laid her down and covered her with the blankets, he gently rubbed her head and he heard a small purring like sound come from her. He smiled and chuckled slightly. "Good night, Blake." Was all he said before he went to shut off the lights and made his way over to the couch. He turned off the TV and laid down on the couch to fall asleep.

* * *

The next morning went pretty much the same way as the day before. The two made their way to a café, Blake got tea and Jaune got coffee. She noticed he drank it every opportunity he could.

"You really are a coffee hound, aren't you?" she said with a small smile.

Jaune chuckled, "One of many things I got from my teacher." He replied with a sad smile. There was silence between the two until Jaune sighed. "Alright, where should we start?"

Blake didn't need him to explain to her what he meant but she had a question she had to ask first, "Why'd you take the couch, Jaune? You could've taken the bed or we could've shared it."

Jaune thought for a second, "I wouldn't've minded us sharing the bed, but we are both dealing with a lot emotionally." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I didn't wanna risk us doing something we may regret later. I don't wanna ruin our friendship by doing something like that." He took a sip from his coffee before looking back at her. "Besides, I couldn't make you take the couch. Both of my mothers raised me better than that." He smiled.

Blake was taken back by his genuine care for her and this new fact he just revealed to her. "Both?" she asked stunned.

"Long story. But we have time though." He looked up at the sky before he looked back at her. "It all starts with my scar. You see, I was always treated special in my family. Being the only son of eight does that. My younger sisters always looked up to me and wanted to always be with me. While my elder sisters always babied me. My parents were also a bit overprotective but they let me have space." He sighed. "That was until I turned six."

He took another sip of his coffee. "We all went camping for my birthday. My younger sisters and I were playing when an Alpha Beowolf came out of the nearby forest and went to attack them. The only thing I remember after that is me jumping in front of my sisters to protect them. My father had to unlock my aura to save my life but that's when everything changed for me." He looked out over the street and subconsciously touched his scar through his clothing, "My parents and sisters became so overprotective after that. It was suffocating. All I ever wanted was to be a hero, a huntsman. Now I had my aura and a lot of it. But my family refused to allow me to train. I could barely leave my home without being escorted."

He was quiet for a bit but Blake let him take his time. "Eventually, I had enough. So, at the ripe old age of nine, I ran away from home. A few days after that, I was attacked by a pack of Grimm. Luckily, I was saved by my soon to be teacher." He smiled slightly. "She wanted to take me back to my home but I refused. I told her that because I had this power, it was my responsibility to help people. She saw my determination and decided she would train me. We sent a letter to my family to tell them that and we left. Must have been funny to see, a human boy and a Faunus traveling together."

Blake was shocked, "Your teacher was a Faunus? So, the person that you said made you want to help Faunus was your teacher?"

Jaune nodded, "Yup. It was the least I could do after everything Gin did for me."

Blake's jaw dropped, "Wait a minute, Gin? As in Gin Inari? The Legendary Faunus Huntress, the Silver Kitsune was your teacher?!"

Jaune smiled before he reached into his pocket. "The very same." He pulled out his scroll and started looking through it. "See for yourself." He handed her his scroll. On it was a picture of Jaune wearing his normal gear with Raikiri resting on his right shoulder. Ren was on his right with Stormflower at the ready. Nora was between the two with an arm around each of them and Magnhild in its hammer form on the ground with Nora balancing on it. They all had huge smiles on their faces and to Jaune's left was a young woman in her early thirties. She had a slim figure with a generous bust, probably the same size as Yang's. She wore a skin tight grey body suit with black armor on her shoulders, forearms, thighs, shins and chest. Two katanas were side by side attached to her right hip; one was black and the other was white. She had long silver hair that was tied back in a low ponytail and ran down to the middle of her back. She had golden colored eyes that held so much warmth in them and her smile was just as warm. She had her right arm behind Jaune's back and her head was leaning on Jaune's left shoulder. The most shocking thing about the picture though was that she had silver fox ears and a silver fox tail.

"Wait, Faunus are only supposed to have a single animal characteristic. But she has two?" Blake said as she looked up at Jaune and handed the scroll back to him.

Jaune shrugged, "She was born like that. Apparently it was mutation and it was mostly because of that, that she was treated so harshly." He said with an edge in his voice. "Apparently, people thought she was more animalistic, even compared to other Faunus." He sighed, "Anyways, not even a year after she started my training we ran into Nora and Ren. And with that we had our family." He smiled.

Blake smile at that, "You loved her, didn't you."

Jaune nodded, "At first I just saw her as my teacher. But the more time we spent together I started seeing her as my friend." He chuckled a little. "I even had a small crush on her for a while." He sighed and looked up into the sky. "Eventually that crush progressed and I started to love her like an older sister. And eventually, like another mother." He looked down for a second. "Although I barely ever told her so. I was kinda worried she'd get as overprotective as my birth mother."

"So, what happened?" she asked, knowing it wasn't going to be a happy ending.

Jaune took another sip of his coffee to calm himself. "It happened almost a year ago."

* * *

 _The sounds of people screaming, roars of the Grimm and the sound of battle was all that could be heard. The small village was being torn apart, along with the soldiers trying to protect them. Until explosions and bullets could be heard. Ren and Nora burst onto the scene laying down suppressive fire. Jaune started ripping through Grimm using Fukiri and Suikiri. And Gin was further up fighting with her white katana, cleaving through any and all Grimm in her way. She soon got surrounded and she sheathed her white katana and drew her black one. As soon as she did, a blinding light was released that blinded the Grimm. They looked like they could win, until more Grimm started coming and the soldiers started retreating._

 _Gin looked at her students, "You three need to pull back! I can handle this!"_

" _No way! Even you can't handle all of this!" Jaune shouted._

" _Jaune, trust me!" she pleaded.  
_

 _Their eyes connected and he nodded. He got to Nora and Ren and the three retreated. When they were a good distance away, they turned to see Gin use her Semblance, Tenko, her golden eyes started to glow and her hair, ears and tails shifted to the same golden color. Her senses went off the charts, along with her strength and speed. She started to tear through the Grimm. They all thought she could do it. Until they heard the gunshot. Tenko did increase her strength and speed but it used practically all her aura. The bullet tore through her aura along with her shoulder and her Semblance started to fade._

 _The three turned to see the captain of the soldiers holding a rifle. They all snapped and ran at him. He tried to fire at them as well but Ren started firing at him, causing him to backpedal. As he was doing that, Jaune used Fukiri to pull him towards them. Jaune then knocked the rifle out of his hands with a water blast from Suikiri and Nora broke his legs with Magnhild. The man fell to the ground while crying out in pain. Jaune sheathed Suikiri and picked the man up by the front of his shirt._

" _What the fuck!? Why'd you do that!?" he shouted._

 _The man just chuckled, "Why wouldn't I? Why sacrifice my men's lives when I could just sacrifice an animal? Let those monsters have her as we get away. Everybody wins." Jaune punched the man and he hit the ground hard. He spat out blood. "What? Are you sad that your pet got killed?" He started laughing manically but stopped with a gasp of pain. He looks to see Jaune standing above him with anger in his eyes and his aura burning bright, with Fukiri through his chest. The man died right after that. The second person Jaune ever killed was now laying on the ground in front of him._

" _Burn in hell." Was all he said as he pulled his sword free from his chest. He wiped off the blood and sheathed it. He turned to see Nora and Ren staring at him with shock but also agreeance. They all heard a scream and turned to see Gin heavily wounded and surrounded. Without even thinking Jaune drew Raikiri with his right and Kakiri with his left. His eyes shifted to the respective colors before he shouted, "GET AWAY FROM HER!" he shot off in a burst of lightning and started tearing through the Grimm with his swords. The fire and lightning also killing their fair share. After a few minutes the Grimm were all dead. He was out of breath and dust. He sheathed both his swords and ran to Gin who was now laying on the ground. Her swords were missing and she had serious wounds across her body. Her shoulder had a hole from the bullet, she had deep slashes across her arms and stomach, and she had a huge chunk bitten out of her upper arm. She was breathing weakly. Jaune knelt down and gently lifted her into a sitting position. "Gin?"_

 _She slowly opened her eyes. "Jaune? What happened to the people? Are they safe?"_

 _He bit his lip slightly, "Yes. They're fine. You will be too. Just hold on."_

 _She slowly shook her head, "I've lost too much blood, Jaune. I don't have long." She looked into his eyes, "Jaune, take care of Nora and Ren. Please."_

" _You don't even need to ask." He was trying to hold back his tears._

 _She nodded, "I'm so proud of you three. More than just students. I always wanted kids but never had the chance to have my own. But you three showed me what it is like to have them. Thank you." She said with a small smile.  
_

 _Jaune shook his head as tears started to fall, "We should be thanking you, Mother."_

 _Her eyes grew wide before she started crying, "If you think I'm worthy of that title then I have no problem calling you my son. I love you, Jaune." As she finished that sentence she died in his arms with that same small smile._

 _Jaune pulled her close to him and started crying more. "I love you too, Mother." He lost it completely and started sobbing uncontrollably. Nora and Ren was with them soon and also started crying. For the death of their teacher and mother._

* * *

"We buried her in a small forest clearing not far from the village. And that's what happened." Jaune was looking down and a tear slid down his face into the remainder of his coffee. Blake just stared at Jaune. She could see just how much pain he was going through by bringing up those memories. Without even thinking, she got up and walked around the table to hug him. Jaune was taken off guard when his head was pulled against her stomach and her arms wrapped around his neck. "Blake?"

"Shhh." Was all she said. Jaune didn't say word after that and just buried his face into her stomach as he returned the hug by wrapping his arms around her lower back. After a few minutes they separated and Blake brought her chair over to sit next to Jaune. "So, how does this connect with the other night?"

"After you left, Weiss was in shock and said something. I took it the wrong way and overreacted, big time. I pretty much told, no shouted, to everyone a summarized version of what I told you. And it hurt Ren and Nora." He looked at her. "I'm supposed to be their friend, their brother. And I reopened those wounds so callously. That's why I ran. I have no right to be around them." Blake wanted to say something but couldn't think of a thing. "Although, one good thing did come out of all this." She looked at him in confusion. He had a small smile on his face, "I got to see you without your bow and I was right, you are more beautiful without it." Then in a whisper, he said, "Your ears are adorable."

Blake blushed at both compliments before she regained her composure. "Why are you still with me?" Jaune just raised an eyebrow. "I know you don't care that I'm a Faunus. But I was a member of the White Fang, you should hate or fear me. Like most people would."

Jaune just sighed, "Blake, you just explained why I don't see you differently. You're no longer a member of the White Fang. Your past doesn't define you, just gives you a starting point. What you choose to do _now_ is what matters and you chose to leave to do good, to be a Huntress. Besides, Gin was also an ex-Fang member and she was the kindest person I ever knew. Same with you. I can see it in your eyes. You don't want blood and destruction. You want equality, same as me. So, why should I see you differently? You're still the same Blake, just with less secrets." He gave her his usual smile.

Blake just stared at him in shock before she smiled just as big as his. She took his hand in hers before saying, "Thank you, Jaune." 'For being the best person I ever met.' she added in her mind.

"Anytime, Blake."


	20. Party at the Docks

Blake and Jaune left the café not long after their little heart to heart. They were walking down the street in a comfortable silence, each feeling a bit better by sharing their burden with someone similar to themselves. They walked for a few more blocks until Jaune decided to speak up. "So, what now?"

Blake was quiet for a second, "You're going to go back to Beacon. The others are worried about you."

"They're worried about you too, Blake. Both of our scrolls going off nonstop proves that. Besides, I have a feeling you're gonna do something crazy and/or stupid. That's my area of expertise, not yours. So I'm staying with you for the foreseeable future."

"Jaune, listen-" Blake tried to convince him, until Jaune cut her off.

"No, you listen, Blake. We left Beacon together and that's how we're going back. No ifs, ands, or buts. Also, Yang and Ruby know I'm with you and it'd be suicide for me to go back without you." He smiled at her, "Face it, you're stuck with me until then."

She stared at him for a bit before she sighed with a small smile. "Looks like I have no choice. I'm not convinced these robberies are caused by the White Fang. They've never needed that much dust before."

"So, your plan is to try and catch the actual criminals behind these robberies to prove the Fang's innocence?" Blake nodded. "Lucky for you that I'm sticking with you then." She turned back to him with a quizzical look. "Yesterday at the park, I overheard some off duty dock workers saying that a huge Schnee Company freighter of dust is coming into the docks today. And I do mean huge. Guarantee that the criminals will be there, it'd be too good to pass up."

Blake's eyes widened slightly, "Guess we're going back to the docks."

"You sure you don't wanna tell the rest of our teams? I know we can handle ourselves but back up never hurt." Blake gave him a slight glare, Jaune just sighed and shrugged, "Was worth a shot."

* * *

Later that night, the two of them were on a rooftop overlooking the docks. They'd been there for a couple of hours already and Jaune was getting slightly stir crazy. He looked over to Blake to ask her something but stopped when he noticed her. The fragmented moon was shining on her in a way that made her usual mysterious beauty turn into something almost irresistible. Guess she felt his eyes on her because she turned to face him, she was surprised by the look he was giving her, "Jaune, why are you looking at me like that?"

Jaune quickly looked back at the docks with a slight blush, "Sorry, I didn't mean to stare. You just looked stunning in the moonlight." He didn't notice her blush and look away as well. At that point, the wind started to pick up and a bullhead descended in the middle of the cargo containers. They then saw White Fang members start to file out of the ship and start gathering the dust.

Blake stared wide eyed, "Oh no."

Jaune placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry, Blake. I wish it wasn't the case."

She shook her head slightly, "I think deep down I knew, I just didn't want to believe it." They were interrupted again when they saw Roman Torchwick come out of the bullhead and start to issue commands to the members of the White Fang. "This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a human. Least of all, one like that."

Before Jaune could stop her, she had already drawn Gambol Shroud and jumped off the roof. "Blake! Damn it!" Jaune quickly pulled out his scroll and switched his GPS on and sent an SOS to his team and RWBY. He drew Suikiri with his right hand and followed after her. By the time he got to her, she had Roman at sword point with her bow off and surrounded by the White Fang. The wind picked up again and several bullheads had also shown up. But Jaune's attention was immediately brought back to Roman as he fired at the ground and sent Blake flying. He was about to fire at her again but Jaune managed to use his aura to get between them and created a water wall in front of him. "Dumbass, you shouldn't be sending out explosives around this much dust! Do you have a death wish!?" Jaune got into his combat stance as he stared him down.

"Thanks for the tip, kid. Get him!" The White Fang members charged Jaune and he met them halfway. They were good with swords but Jaune was a master. He was able to deflect all their attacks and drop them with either the broadside of his sword or by using his water whips to toss them about. Roman growled in annoyance and fired another shot at Jaune. Jaune kicked away another grunt and fired a water blast to counter it. That's when Blake ran past Jaune to start attacking Roman again. Jaune was about to back her up but more White Fang started dropping out of the other bullheads. The numbers were starting to get to him and he was forced on the defensive. He was only able to dodge most of the attacks due to his enhanced reflexes from using water enhanced aura. 'This is bad. I can't use my other swords; I could accidentally set off the dust and any Advance Elements would be just as dangerous. But at this rate, Suikiri is gonna run outta dust.' He then used his Semblance to use the water he had summoned to create miniature waves to push the grunts back slightly. His eyes widen in realization. 'That could work! But I need time to focus!"

Jaune was surrounded by a dozen White Fang now but luckily for him, one of them got hit with a banana peel before he got kicked in the face. The newcomer then backflipped over Jaune and stood behind him with a bo staff, "Sup, Jaune?"

"Sun?!" Jaune said in shock before he slashed at another grunt. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

Sun knocked out a grunt with his staff before answering, "You know, was in the neighborhood! Heard the explosions and it sounded like a fun time!"

"You need to reconsider your definition of fun!" Jaune sent a blast of water to knock a few of them away. "Hey, Sun, I'm cashing in that 'you owe me'!"

"What do you need?" he asked still fighting.

"I have a way to wrap this up but I need a few minutes. Think you can keep them off me?"

"No problem!" Sun separated his staff into its gunchuck form before charging forward. Jaune jumped back, he then hed Suikiri horizontally in front of him and placed his hand on the broadside of it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before focusing his mind and aura. He started to focus his Semblance to manipulate the water around him. He could feel all the water he had summoned so far but he kept pushing his Semblance further, reaching for more. He could feel a slight pull just outside of his senses, he kept pushing, feeling his Semblance reaching its limit. With a grunt of pain, Jaune gave one final push and felt his Semblance connect to a huge mass of water. At that moment, Jaune's now blue aura flared and a massive water spout could be seen right next to the docks. Everyone stared in shock at it. Jaune raised Suikiri with his eyes still closed and the water spout angled towards them all before flying at them. It miraculously stopped barely ten feet from the tip of Suikiri and it shifted into a giant water sphere right above all of them. Jaune opened his eyes and everyone besides him could see that his right eye was glowing a brilliant blue, the ye itself surrounded by blue flames.

Jaune flicked his blade towards Sun and the White Fang he was dealing with. A massive water whip broke away from the sphere and struck at them. The water parted around Sun and slammed the grunts into a container knocking them out instantly. Several more grunts appeared on top of the containers and opened fired on him and Sun. Jaune put his hand in front of him and pointed his sword and Sun, water walls appeared in front of both of them and the water started glowing the same blue as his eye. The water somehow stopped all the bullets inside of it. Sun and the grunts were stunned until Jaune flicked his wrist and sword at the grunts. The water condensed around the bullets and fired back at the Fang members. The bullet reinforced water knocked out the grunts. Jaune walked towards the remaining grunts before turning to Sun, "Thanks, Sun, mind giving Blake a hand?" He nodded dumbly before going to help her. The last dozen or so White Fang looked at Jaune in terror. "Last chance. Surrender or else." To prove his point water tendrils broke off from the main sphere and started whipping near them. They quickly dropped their weapons and raised their hands. Just to be safe, he still had the tendrils knock them out.

He turned back to Roman to see him shoot at a suspended container and it started to fall towards Blake and Sun. Jaune quickly punched the air and simultaneously, a massive water stream shot off from the water sphere and sent it into one of the bullheads, bringing it down. At that time, they heard a familiar voice shout their names and the sound of sniper fire. Jaune turned to see Ruby on a nearby rooftop with the orange haired girl from the other day and he waved. He saw Roman take another shot towards them and Jaune raised his hand in their direction and more water broke off from the water sphere to form a shield for them. As he was doing that, a few more bullheads flew in and started opening fire. Jaune turned the water sphere into a giant water shield above all of them and it started to shine blue to stop the bullets.

Jaune was starting to breath heavily and heard someone land next to him. He turned to see the orange hair girl standing next to him with swords floating around her. "Salutations!" was all she said with a smile.

Jaune raised an eyebrow, "Hey. Any chance you can help me with the bullheads?"

She nodded before she hit her chest, "I'm combat ready! You also saved my friend so I am obligated to help." She said with a smile.

Jaune just went with it, "Hey, any friend of Ruby's is alright in my book. Now let's do this!" He raised Suikiri and the water shield broke apart and surrounded the bullheads in a water bubbles He swung his sword toward the edge of the docks and sent them flying into the sea. He missed two of them but Penny was able to bring one down by using a giant laser from her swords and the other with her swords pulling it to the ground. They were about to celebrate until Jaune noticed a bullhead trying to fly away with Roman inside of it. "Get back here!" Jaune shouted and started to swing his sword towards the bullhead. He was intending to bring the bullhead down with the remainder of his water. But halfway through his swing, a massive spike of pain went through his head. It made him drop Suikiri and he stumbled forward. His vision started blurring and he heard people shouting his name along with a large amount of water falling. He saw Blake running to catch him before everything went black.

* * *

Jaune slowly opened his eyes to the sight of a white ceiling. He was lying in a bed and had no idea how he got there. He started sitting up but as he moved slightly, a pain shot through his head and his hand shot up to his head. "Ow, that's an element hangover if I ever had one." Next thing he knew he heard several people shout his name and felt three people jump on top of him. He looked down and saw Ruby, Pyrrha and Yang on top of him, hugging him. He looks around to see Blake and Sun standing on one side of his bed and Weiss on the other side. Along with Ren and Nora a few feet away from his bed. "Where am I?"

Blake was the one to answer, "Beacon's Infirmary. You passed out at the docks and we had no idea what happened. So we brought you here and the doctors said you were fine. But they want to keep you until the morning to make sure."

Jaune groaned slightly before looking down at the girls hugging him, "Can you three get off, please? It's kinda hard to breath." Ruby and Yang gave him pouts but stood up next to their partners. Pyrrha refused to get up though. "Pyrrha?"

"You're an idiot." Everyone was shocked by this. "You disappear for two days and when you return you are unconscious. Do you know how worried you made us?" Her voice was shaking slightly and she refused to take her face off of his chest.

Jaune gently returned the hug, "I'm sorry, Pyr. I'm a terrible friend, partner and leader."

She shook her head, "I wouldn't go that far." was all she said before she looks up at him with a small smile. "I'll forgive you this time." She said before she got off of him.

He returned with his own small smile before he started to sit up. His head started to ache again and he groaned, "Definitely an element hangover." He said.

"How do you know what a hangover feels like?" Yang asked jokingly.

"Your Uncle is a bad influence." He replied. He looked over at Sun, "I owe you one, Sun."

"Nah, man. We're even. Just call me if you need a hand or just want to hang." He held out his hand and Jaune took it.

"Deal." Jaune said with his usual smile.

Sun gave his own smile before he rested his hands behind his head. "Well, I think I should leave you guys alone. Don't wanna be a third wheel. Or ninth wheel in this case." He chuckled slightly before he left.

There is an uncomfortable silence before Jaune sighed. "I have a lot to make up for." He looked over to Weiss, "I want to apologize, Weiss. I shouldn't have shouted at you like that. I was out of line."

Weiss looked at him in shock before she gave him a softened look, "It's alright, Jaune. I said a lot that I shouldn't have. You set me straight, again, and I hope we can move on from this." She gave him a small smile and then gave the same smile to Blake. They both smiled and nodded.

Jaune looked over at Nora and Ren before he looked done. "Guys, I can't apologize enough. I brought up those memories and reopened those wounds callously. You have every right to be mad at me. But I just want you to know, I'm truly sorry. I would never intentionally want to do that."

There was a silence in the room until Jaune was tackled again, but this time by Nora. He looked down to see her holding onto him tightly. "It's okay, Jaune. We know you didn't mean to hurt us. So, we can forgive you." She looked up at him with her usual smile. "You are our Fearless Leader after all." Jaune was shocked but smiled and hugged Nora close. He gently kissed her on the top of her head and Ren made his way over to hug Jaune as well. After a minute or so, they broke apart.

"So, where'd you guys go after you left?" Yang asked them.

"I paid for a room at a hotel and we stayed there." Jaune said with a shrug.

Yang gave him a teasing smirk, "So, did you guys share a bed?" They all looked at the two of them with looks of curiosity.

Jaune sighed, "No, Yang, I slept on the couch. And before you say anything, we both were dealing with a lot. Emotionally. I thought it'd be best if we didn't sleep in the same bed, in case we did something that we'd regret later."

Everyone understood what he meant and they all nodded. Blake gave Jaune a small smile before Ruby brought up a question, "Jaune? How did you do all that with the water? You've never done that before."

"Nothing special, Ruby. It was just a part of my Semblance. The more of an element is around me, the more potentially powerful it can be. Earth and air are always around so they are usually very strong. Fire and lightning are usually slightly weaker but I make up for it by learning to create them. Water is by far my most...temperamental element. But because we were at the docks, my water abilities were at their peak. The only problem is the more of an element I use at one time, the more stress is puts on my Semblance and body. I can also send my aura into an element to make it more potent. That's why the water started glowing blue and could stop bullets. I passed out because I reached my limit. And why my head feels like I went ten rounds with Yang." Everyone laughed at that.

They were all quiet for a while. Jaune noticed that Ruby, Weiss, Yang and Pyrrha were sharing looks with one another. Jaune sighed again, "Girls." They looked at him. "If you have something to ask me then you should do it before I doze off again." He said with a smirk.

They looked at each other and Pyrrha spoke up. "Well, Jaune…...you brought up a bit about your past…. And we were wondering…if you could tell us more. If you're up to it that is."

Jaune thought for a second before he looked to Ren and Nora. They looked at each other then nodded before nodding to Jaune. Jaune took a deep breath and pulled his shirt up. Yang and Ruby gasped, seeing his scar for the first time. Pyrrha's mouth opened in shock, she saw it before but never this close. "It all starts with this scar." Jaune then told them all everything that he told Blake. It was a little easier this time with Ren and Nora's support. By the end of it, Pyrrha and Yang were crying, Weiss was trying to hold back her tears but failing and Ruby had her head down.

She went over to Jaune and gently grabbed his shirt sleeve. Jaune looked over to her and she slowly raised her head. He saw her crying, more so than anyone else. "I'm sorry, Jaune." She was shaking. "Yang and I lost our mother too." Everyone looked wide eyed at her, even Yang. Ruby rarely talked about Summer, especially with anyone besides family. "I know that the pain never really leaves but I want you to know, that I know how you feel and I am here for you." Ruby started to losing the little control she had.

"Ruby." Jaune wrapped his arms around her and she held onto the front of his shirt as she buried her face into his shoulder to finally let go. Jaune looked at Yang for permission and she nodded after a second or two. Jaune pulled Ruby onto the bed and held her close. He moved one hand to the back of her head and slowly started to stroke her hair. "Shhh, it's alright, Ruby. It's alright." Jaune just held her like this and kept repeating those words. He also had a few of his own tears from seeing his best friend hurt so much. Eventually, Ruby calmed down and she fell asleep holding onto Jaune. Yang then took her sister from him.

"Thank you, Jaune. I'm glad she has you as a best friend." She said with a small smile.

Jaune nodded with his own small smile. Everyone decided it was late and started to leave. They wished Jaune a good night and promised to come by in the morning. Everyone left besides Blake. She stood right next to Jaune and smiled at him. "Thank you, Jaune. For everything this weekend. I really needed a friend like you."

Jaune smiled, "No problem, Kitten."

Blake blushed at the nickname, "Kitten?"

Jaune nodded, "Yup. It's your nickname." Blake looked worried until Jaune spoke again. "Don't worry. I'll only call you it when it's just us or when we're with our teams. Unless, you hate it that is."

Blake thought for a second, "I guess it's not terrible." She said still with a blush. "I still want to give you something for what you did."

"Blake, it's fine. You don't need to. I would do it again in a heart-" Jaune was cut off when he felt her hand on his shoulder and her lips on his. Jaune's eyes widened in shock. He wasn't expecting this at all. It was a chaste kiss but it still blew Jaune's mind. It only lasted a few seconds but it felt like years to him. Blake pulled away, looking at him with a gleam in her eyes and that same smile. Jaune didn't say a thing.

"I know you aren't emotionally ready for a relationship, Jaune. But I want you to know, I could easily see myself with you and being very happy. So, please. When you're ready, give it a thought." She slowly went to leave and when she was about to go out the door, she turned back around and gave him one last loving smile.

When she left, Jaune collapsed onto the bed and looked up at the ceiling. Trying to comprehend what just happened. Finally, he sighed and closed his eyes. 'Things just got complicated.' Was all he thought before he fell asleep.


	21. Normality

Jaune woke up the next morning still in the infirmary. The doctors checked to make sure he was fine and released him. Jaune made his way to his dorm to change into his uniform and made his way to the cafeteria. He found his team and RWBY and quickly joined them.

"You feeling better, Jaune?" asked Pyrrha as she was looking him over.

Jaune shrugged, "I was fine yesterday. That headache I was having went away not long after you all left. People just like to worry." He said as he was drinking his coffee.

"Well since you're feeling a hundred percent, why don't we go spar before class?" Yang said cheerfully as she slammed her fists together.

Jaune raised an eyebrow and smirked at her, "Yang, I just got out of the infirmary. Why are you so hell bound to send me back?"

"Oh please, you're more durable than that. Besides, that would just make it my responsibility to watch over you as you recover." She said with a teasing smile.

Jaune just put his coffee down, "You mean watch me for a few minutes and when no one is around sleep on top of me again." He said with his own teasing smile.

"Well, that was the best nap of my life." She said before everyone started laughing. Jaune smiled afterwards, everything seemed to be back to normal and he couldn't be happier. Although, he did notice Blake looking over her book at him. When they made eye contact, she smiled the same smile from yesterday before returning to her book. That was one thing Jaune didn't know what to do about. He wanted to get closer to Blake before the whole fiasco but now this was closer than he intended. He was flattered that someone like Blake had genuine feelings towards him but he had no idea if he felt the same way. He hadn't even given a thought to dating her or anyone for that matter. But at least, she understood this and gave him time to figure things out. But what was the real problem being his underlying fear about falling in love.

Jaune was roused from his thoughts when he heard someone calling out to him. He turned and was enveloped in a hug. It took him a minute to figure out it was Velvet. Jaune smiled and put one arm around her to return the hug. "Wow, Vel. Didn't realize you two were that close." Said Coco not far behind her. Velvet quickly stepped away with a small blush and muttered a small 'sorry'.

Jaune just waved it off, "No problem, Velvet. I'm used to random hugs." And if to prove a point, Nora jumped onto Jaune's back to give him a hug. "See?" He said with a smile.

Velvet smiled at this and nodded, "Thank you, Jaune. I was just excited to see you. Ruby told me you left Beacon and we were all worried."

Jaune took a look at Ruby, who gave him a sheepish smile in return. "Yeah, Blake and I needed some time away to sort things out. But it all worked out in the end."

Velvet stared wide eyed at him and Coco looked over her sunglasses to look at Jaune then Blake. "So you and the bookworm? Never saw that coming." She said before pushing her glasses into place.

Blake and Jaune blushed slightly before Jaune continued, "Not like that, Coco. We just stayed in the same hotel room. And no. We didn't share the bed; I took the couch." He said before taking another sip of his coffee.

"Oh, quite the gentleman. The woman that you do end up with will be a lucky one." She said before looking sideways at Velvet behind her sunglasses. Everyone else agreed silently inside their heads.

Until Jaune sighed, "No woman deserves to be with an emotional wreck like me. Besides, any relationship with me would probably end terribly." He said with the dead neutral voice he used whenever he talked about relationships involving himself. He closed his eyes and drank deeply from his coffee. Coco and Velvet looked at him in shock, they never heard Jaune talk like that before. Meanwhile, everyone else at the table just looked at him sadly. Nora was gonna try and liven up the mood before both Jaune's and Blake's scrolls went off. They both looked to see a message telling them to come to Ozpin's office as soon as they could. The two looked up at each other and nodded. Jaune drank the last of his coffee before standing. "Well, me and Blake were just summoned to Ozpin's office so we'll catch you later." He smiled at them and gently tapped on Nora's arms for her to let go, she did and they left for Ozpin's.

* * *

They were riding up to his office when Jaune spoke up, "Think this is about us tearing up the docks?"

Blake just looked at him, "I think you tore up the docks more than I did."

"Well excuse me for trying to save you, Kitten." He said and started rubbing her head. Blake started to blush and smacked his hand away. She tried to glare at him but the blush didn't help and Jaune just chuckled. The elevator opened up and the two made their way over to Ozpin's desk. "You wanted to see us, sir?"

Ozpin nodded and gestured to the chairs in front of his desk, "Please, take a seat." The two did and Ozpin just looked at the two of them for a minute. "I was hoping to talk with you two about yesterday night. When you two thwarted that attempted robbery at the docks. I would've preferred to do it yesterday but I didn't want to bother your recovery, Mr. Arc ."

Jaune shrugged slightly, "I was fine, sir. I just pushed my Semblance too far. But thank you for the concern." He smiled lightly.

Ozpin smiled lightly as well before continuing, "As you both know, in order to enroll at this academy, students must first pass a rigorous entrance exam. In most cases." He gave Jaune a sideways glance and he shrugged. "Most applicants spend years of preparation training at one of many combat schools. You are two of the few that did not."

"I was raised outside the Kingdoms. If you can't fight, you can't survive." Blake said and Jaune nodded in agreeance. Neither knew where Ozpin was leading this discussion.

"Well, you two have most certainly survived. I admire that drive. And I'm proud to run a school that accepts individuals from all walks of life. Rich, poor, human, Faunus." Blake and Jaune were taken back by that statement. It sounded as if Ozpin knew Blake's secret. "Why do you wear that bow, Blake? Why hide who you are?"

"You and a few others may be willing to accept the Faunus, Professor Ozpin, but your species is not." Blake said and Jaune nodded sadly at that while looking down at the ground.

"True, but we are continuing to take strides to lessen the divide." Ozpin responded.

"Not fast enough." Both turned to Jaune, who looked back up at Ozpin. "We both know, Professor, how the bulk of Faunus are treated. And what happens to the unlucky ones." Jaune said this and clenched his fists together, almost painfully.

Blake gave him a sad look before she turned back to Ozpin, "Until that divide is lessened, I'd rather avoid any unnecessary attention. I want people to see me for who I am, not what I am."

"And what are you?" Ozpin questioned.

"I don't understand what you're asking." Blake replied slightly off guard.

"How did you know the White Fang would be at the shipyard yesterday?"

"We didn't." Jaune spoke up again. "We heard that might be where the next dust robbery would be and curiosity got the better of us."

"You wouldn't be the first. But what happened, as you know, is not an isolated incident. I may be your headmaster, but I am also a Huntsman, and it's my sworn duty to protect this world from the forces that conspire against it." Ozpin was cut off when Jaune stood up.

"Are you saying Blake is a threat, sir?" Jaune said trying not to get angry.

Ozpin just looked at him, "No, Jaune, I'm not. Just making a point. So, Blake, are you sure there is nothing else you two would like to tell me?"

Blake looked over to Jaune before looking back to Ozpin, "I'm sure." And Jaune nodded.

Ozpin nods, "Very well. Thank you for your time, Ms. Belladonna, Mr. Arc. If you two ever need to talk to me. Please, don't hesitate to ask." They nodded and made their way to the elevator. Jaune had a hand on Blake's back in a protective manner. The two exited the elevator and continued with their day.

* * *

The week went by very quickly. Classes were wrapping up and final exams were being taken. It was now Friday and all classes and exams were done and soon the two-week break would be around the corner. Teams JNPR and RWBY were outside enjoying the rest of the day underneath the same tree they usually relaxed under. Jaune was stretched out in the shade, "Oh man, I'm so glad _that_ is over. Now we get to relax." Jaune said as he put his left arm behind his head.

"Yup! We deserved this." Yang said before laying almost completely on top of Jaune's left side and cuddled up to him to fall asleep. Blake, was pretty annoyed with this, along with the other girls.

Jaune just sighed and closed his eyes. He was not gonna fight Yang over this, it just wasn't worth it and it was his fault for letting her do it the first time. "Nora, no pictures." Jaune said still with his eyes closed and Nora sadly put her scroll away. Everyone else laughed at this and Yang cuddled up closer to Jaune.

"So, what are everyone's plans for the break? Anyone going home?" Ruby asked everyone.

Jaune cracked open an eye before looking at her, "Ren, Nora and I are staying here. It's that or going back to my family's home. And as much as I love them and all, I feel like they may try to keep us there." He reclosed his eye, Nora and Ren nodded their head in agreeance.

"You never mentioned before that you still contact your family." Blake said.

Jaune kept his eyes closed but explained, "Mother, thought it'd be a good idea for me to keep in contact and I'm so glad I listened to her. It wasn't like I hated them, I just couldn't take the overprotectiveness. I call them at least once a week to let them know what's going on. Besides, they've at least gotten better with giving me my independence. They've pretty much adopted Ren and Nora, at this point too." He said with a smile.

They all smiled at that, even the 'sleeping' Yang. Blake spoke up next, "I'm staying here as well. Not really anywhere for me to go."

"I'm staying, as well. I'd rather not spend my break at home." Weiss said coldly.

"I was going to go home but, apparently, Grimm are acting up in Mistral. So, I'm stuck here for the time being." Pyrrha said but didn't exactly sound sad about that.

"Well, me and Yang were going to head home but since the rest of you are staying, we might as well too! Right, Yang?" Ruby said and waited for Yang to respond but she didn't. "Yang?"

Jaune opened his eyes and looked down at her. She wasn't faking to be asleep this time. "She actually fell asleep." He told everyone. He was about to shift slightly but Yang just pulled him closer and gave a happy sigh. Jaune sighed as well but his was slightly annoyed, "Aren't people supposed to be easier to deal with when they're sleeping?" Jaune asked and everyone laughed again.

"Oh, I just got a great idea! Let's have a sleepover!" Ruby shouted.

"Yeah! That's a great idea!" Nora shouted as well.

Yang groaned slightly and pulled the two of them closer together. "Guys, quieter, unless you wanna disturb Yang. I'm all for that idea but we are having it in our room. I still don't trust those death traps you call bunk beds." Jaune said.

"They're fine, no one's been hurt." Ruby said somewhat annoyed.

"Yet." Jaune said and Ruby gave him an annoyed pout.

"I think it's also a good idea." Pyrrha said excitedly.

"It would be an enjoyable time." Ren added.

Blake and Weiss agreed as well. "Great. Let's get ourselves snacks, drinks and get a few movies as well. This is gonna be awesome!" Ruby said and they all got up to get the supplies.

"Uh, guys? What am I supposed to do?" Jaune said pointing at Yang.

"You're fine. Just meet up with us when she wakes up." Ruby said as they walked away.

Jaune sighed again and looked down at Yang. She looked so at peace, so he decided he shouldn't wake her. He took his left arm out from behind his head and replaced it with his right. He then put his left arm around Yang and decided to follow her lead.

Jaune woke up a couple hours later. The sun was just starting to set. He looked down and found that Yang was completely on top of him now. He looked at her with a small smile. "I don't know if you're more beautiful when you're sleeping or not." He said as he started stroking her hair.

"I didn't know you felt that way, Hero." said Yang as she slowly opened her eyes and looked at him.

Jaune froze slightly, "How long have you been awake?" he asked nervously.

"Not long. Probably a minute or so before you." she said.

"Okay. Could you get off of me now?"

"No." she said seriously and Jaune got nervous. Very nervous. "I told you before, no one touches my hair." She moved up him, she put her arms on either side of his head and now they were face to face. "I think I need to punish you now." Jaune gulped at this. "Or maybe I can let this slide? I mean you are the best friend that Ruby has ever had and you did protect my partner. Those are two very good reasons to not hurt you." She moved her hands to gently grasp his face and Jaune was just staring at her. He didn't know what to do. "Maybe I should reward you?" Her face started to move down towards Jaune's and he could now feel her breath on his lips. "If this is too much, just say so and I'll stop." She said sympathetically.

He looked up into her eyes, he could see that she was serious. If he didn't want this she would stop. He just had to say it, but he didn't. For some reason he couldn't, he didn't want her to stop. She nodded slightly and started to lower her head again. Their lips were only and inch apart now.

"What is going on here?" Yang stopped and both their eyes went wide. They looked to see Blake standing there looking annoyed.

"Damn, Blake, you've got the worst timing." Yang said before getting off of him. Jaune slowly stood up and looked at the two.

"Yang, I told you what happened in the infirmary so why would you do this?" Blake said very annoyed.

"I was curious as to how good his kiss was. It wasn't going to mean anything." Yang defended. Jaune was slightly hurt by what she said. But he knew she was lying. He saw it in her eyes, she may harmlessly tease him but he could see that she genuinely wanted to kiss him. And he was more shocked now, realizing that he wanted it too.

The three made their way back to the dorm. Blake and Yang were still arguing. Jaune however was still deep in thought. Trying to wrap his head around what just happened. The two of them went into their dorm and Jaune opened his door a crack before saying, "Is everyone decent in here?"

The door was then opened by Nora, "Yup!" Jaune looked in to see his team, Ruby and Weiss were in their pajamas. "So, Blake woke you and Yang up?"

Jaune looked away slightly, "Kinda." He made his way into the room then grabbed his pajamas and went into the bathroom to change. He splashed water onto his face before quickly changing. He put on his shorts but forgot his tank top. He threw his clothes into the clothes hamper and then opened the door. He found that now Yang and Blake were also there in their pajamas. They all looked at him and girls blushed slightly.

"Why don't you have a shirt on!?" Weiss asked frantically.

Jaune just shrugged and went to his dresser. "I forgot to grab it. Besides, you've all seen me topless before so what's the big deal?" He put his shirt on and they continued with their sleepover. Jaune was thankful for the good time and that he could distract himself from his thoughts of Blake and Yang.


	22. Out in the Open

Jaune woke up late the next morning. He checked his scroll and saw it was ten in the morning. Made sense though, they all stayed up into the early hours of the morning just hanging out and watching movies. He looked around and saw everyone pretty much sleeping in sleeping bags on the floor. Jaune thought it'd be unfair for the girls of RWBY to sleep on the floor by themselves, so his team agreed to do the same. He looked and saw that Nora was hugging Ren tightly in their sleep but that wasn't outside the norm. He did see that Pyrrha had grabbed Ruby and was practically spooning her. Jaune chuckled, Pyrrha must have clung onto Ruby instead of her pillow in the middle of the night. Ruby didn't seem bothered though, she seemed to enjoy being held. He kept looking and saw that Weiss and Blake were in their own sleeping bags still sleeping peacefully. He then looked down and saw that Yang was cuddling up to him. He smiled at first but then the memories from the day before came back to him and his face turned into a troubled expression.

He carefully untangled Yang from himself and got dressed. He quietly exited his room and just started to walk around. He needed somewhere to just process yesterday properly. But where? 'I would prefer the rooftop but Pyrrha knows that's my usual spot. The edge of the forest is out because Weiss will find me there. The library would be good but that's Blake's domain.' He sighed when he was done with his thoughts. He found himself in front of one of the empty classrooms. He looked at it for a second before shrugging. 'No one will expect me to be there.'

He opened the door and sat in one of the seats at the top row, that way he'd know if someone came in. He took a deep breath and reached into his pocket and pulled out a lightning dust crystal. Gin had always made him carry a dust crystal at all times he didn't have his swords on him, just in case he needed to defend himself. He smiled lightly before absorbing a small amount of energy from the crystal. He then returned it to his pocket before he put his foot on the edge of the table and leaned his chair back onto its hind legs. He held his hands out, not far from his chest with his palms facing each other. He then took a deep breath and started to send his lightning enhanced aura quickly between his two hands. He made it go faster and faster until the air ionized and lightning was discharging from on hand to the other. He would send it from his right hand to his left and then send it back to his right, he kept this up reflexively. He found this helped him think. He closed his eyes and started thinking.

'Alright. So, Yang. Was she serious yesterday? That's the question…. Well, let's think this through. Yang has always been a harmless tease, that's just what Yang does. That's what we do around each other, tease one another but no one gets hurt. So, it would make sense that she was just teasing me again yesterday, right?' Jaune felt a pang in his chest from that. 'But, that seems beyond what Yang would do. She knows how I am, so she wouldn't do that because she would know I'm still hurting. Right?'

He sighed in frustration. 'Let's think of this from another angle. The only other thing I could think of is that Yang has developed feelings for me. But that's crazy, right? Or is it? I mean she did give me two reasons yesterday. But was she telling me the truth?' he shook his head slightly. 'No, stop that. Yang isn't a liar. But she did tell Blake she was just curious and the kiss wouldn't mean anything.' Another pang of pain went through his chest. 'Would she do that? Use me to sate her curiosity?' He moved his head upwards and leaned his chair back more so that he was facing the ceiling. 'I just don't think so. She has a good heart. At least that's the impression I got. Plus, there was that look in her eyes. She was slightly worried; she would've stopped if I wasn't comfortable with it. Or did I just imagine that? I'm just talking in circles at this point. The only thing I can do is talk to her.'

He sighed again before actually speaking out loud. "Although, that could just bring up something that we don't need to. Could also hurt our relationship. Maybe, I should just distance myself a bit for a while?"

"Distance yourself from who?" Jaune's eyes snapped open and he looked to see Yang still in her pajamas in the doorway. The sudden movement almost made him lose his balance but he managed to correct himself. Although because of that, he lost focus and the electricity between his hands discharged outward, causing his chair to tip over. He hit his head on the floor and groaned in pain. "Wow, smooth." She said while trying not to laugh.

He just gave her a glare. Before he stood up and dusted himself off. "Why are you here?" He asked. He'd usually return with some joke but he was already frustrated. He was confused enough and now she was here, when he needed space.

She noticed this but continued, "When you got up you woke me. I was gonna go back to sleep but when you left, you seemed like something was bothering you. So I followed." She walked into the classroom. "Wanna talk about it?"

He thought for a second before he decided not to. He shook his head, "No. I'm fine. Why don't you go check on everyone? I'll head to the common room and make us brunch." He started walking past her to leave and get space but Yang grabbed his arm.

"The others are fine. You're the one I'm worried about. So, talk to me." She seemed genuine and that just made Jaune more confused and frustrated.

"I'm fine." He said again with as much finality behind it as he could but Yang didn't let go.

"You keep saying that but I know you aren't." She said stubbornly.

Jaune gave a frustrated growl, "And what makes you an expert on me?" He said slightly heated.

She responded with just as much heat, "Because you're my friend, damn it. Now you're not going anywhere until you talk to me." She tightened her grip on his arm.

Jaune had enough. He spun around and smacked her hand off of him. "You're my problem!" She looked stunned at him and he continued. "We were fine but then you had to go and try to kiss me yesterday!" She got a look of understanding on her face and then looked angry but Jaune cut her off before she could talk. "I know we tease each other Yang but that was going too far. After all that talk about understanding the pain I've been going through, I thought you'd understand that doing that was crossing the line."

"So you think I did that just to tease you?!" She shouted at him.

"Either that or you actually have feelings for me but I doubt that." He looked away with a hurt expression his face. "I think your words were, 'I was curious. It wouldn't mean anything.' Right?" He looked at her and Yang saw the pain in his eyes. "Is that all that would've been? Just curiosity? Is that all it is?"

Yang calmed down immediately and slowly reached out to Jaune, "Jaune, no, that's not it."

Jaune took a step back, "I'm confused enough with Blake. So, why? Why would you just add more on top of it?" He turned away from her so he missed the pain she had in her eyes. "I need some space, Yang. Please respect that." He started to walk away slowly until he felt her arms wrap around him and her head laying on his shoulder. "This isn't space."

"I'm sorry, Jaune. I didn't think you'd take it like that. I didn't mean to confuse and hurt you." She took a deep breath before she continued, "The truth is, I wasn't teasing you and I wasn't just curious. I wanted to kiss you because I wanted to show you my feelings."

Jaune stiffened at that and his eyes widened, "Yang, if this is a joke, it's not funny." He said in disbelief.

He felt her shake her head. "It's not a joke, Jaune. I'm serious." She slowly turned him around and he saw the honesty in her eyes and the small tears. "I think it started before initiation. I thought at first it was just a little thing but the day we had our first fight I realized all the good qualities you have. I realized I fell for you but I knew that you weren't ready to know my feelings." She looked down slightly, "I started to spend more time with you because I wanted to spend as much time with you as I could. To know you better and find the the right time to tell you." She leaned her forehead onto his chest. "But, after I found out Bake kissed you…...I was afraid." Her voice started shaking. "I've never felt this way about anyone before and the thought of losing you before I even had the chance to show you how I felt was too much." She started to shake.

"Yang." Jaune said and held her close, slowly stroking her hair. After hearing her words, he realized how much she cared for him and he hated himself for making her cry. Yang should never cry. "I'm sorry, Yang. I didn't know. Finding out that Blake had feelings for me was a shock already. Even the possibility that you did too was just too much. I mean, why would a guy like me get the attention of two of the most gorgeous women at Beacon." He said genuinely to try to make her feel better.

She stopped shaking. "Why, Jaune?" He looked at her confused. "Why do you hold so much hate for yourself?" She looked up and him with tears still in her eyes and it pulled at his heartstrings. "You are the best guy I have ever met. You aren't scum, so why do you see yourself that way?"

He looked away and gave a small sigh before looking back at her, "Because I've done so much wrong, Yang. I hurt my family when I ran away, I've killed people. I even hurt the people closest to me. Nora and Ren a while ago. Now you. I failed to protect two of the most important people in my life." He looked down. "No matter how much good I do, no matter how strong I become. It's never enough."

Yang moved her hands to his shoulders and he looked back at her. "Is that the problem? You're afraid that if you fall in love, that person will be taken away from you again?" Jaune's eyes widened and he slowly nodded. "Jaune, we all have those fears. Even me. But if you let that fear control you, you'll just always be alone and in pain. Is that what Gin and Amber would want?"

He slowly closed his eyes to try to stop the tears that were forming and slowly shook his head. "I know. But, just the thought of losing any of you guys. It's too much. Even if I'm unsure how I feel at this point, losing any of you just scares me to death."

Yang cupped both of his cheeks and he opened his eyes again. "That's how everyone feels, Jaune. No one wants to lose the people they care for. You've been unlucky enough to experience that pain twice now. But, you need to trust in yourself as much as we do. And give us some credit, we aren't helpless." She gave him a half smile that he returned. "Do you trust me?"

Jaune didn't even have to think, "With my life."

"Then trust me now." She started to move their faces closer. He didn't stop her. He felt their lips meet in a chaste kiss. It was different from the one with Blake but he pushed that thought out of his head. For the time being, he was with Yang. It lasted for a few seconds before they pulled apart. "Was that so hard?" She asked with a small smile.

"No. It was kinda simple." He smiled and she smiled in return. He then moved one of his hands underneath her chin and raised her head slightly. He brought his head down to kissed her. Her eyes widened before they closed and she returned the kiss. This one lasted a bit longer before they separated.

"What was that for?" Yang asked.

"Just a thank you. For helping me and for putting up with me." She smiled and he continued, "I hope you understand though. I'm still not sure how I feel. About anything. I'm not asking you to wait but I don't wanna give you a rushed answer."

She nodded, "I understand. Just don't keep me waiting too long, Hero." She said with her usual teasing smile.

Jaune just smiled back at her, "Thank you, Sun Fire." That's when both their scrolls went off. Ruby and Pyrrha were both wondering where they were. Jaune just sent them a message saying to meet in the common room for brunch. "Well, let's go before they get there." He started making his way back and Yang was following him. "Um, I don't wanna make this sound weird but could we keep this between us? Just for the time being?" He looked over to Yang and she nodded.

"Absolutely." She started walking in front of him. "Wouldn't want the other girls to know about those heavenly lips of yours." She said that and Jaune blushed, not sure if she was teasing him this time or not. He noticed she was walking with more sway in her hips than normal. She turned to catch him with a knowing smile, "My eyes are up here." He blushed more after that. She turned around with a small giggle and he just sighed.

'This is gonna be thing from now on.' He thought but found that he was somewhat okay with this.


	23. RWBY VS JNPR

Teams JNPR and RWBY were sitting in the common room of the dorms. They had all just finished their brunch and were just enjoying the company of each other. Besides Ruby and Pyrrha, they were trying to convince Nora to delete the picture she took of them sleeping together. Jaune just chuckled at this, he knew tht was a losing battle. Nora very rarely deleted pictures she deemed as cute but he enjoyed it nonetheless.

"So, any plans for today?" Jaune asked the table as a whole.

"Not really. I was probably gonna chill. That is unless you wanna go a few rounds, Hero." Yang said to Jaune with a smile.

Jaune just sighed before giving her a small grin. "Why do you wanna break my face so much?" Yang just shrugged at that and Jaune just drank his coffee. He still felt a little weird about one of his closest friends feeling for him like that but it was better than him second guessing Yang's intentions. Although, there was still the slight awkwardness on his end.

"Actually, that might be a good idea, Jaune?" Pyrrha brought up.

He looked over to her, "What? Breaking my face?" He gave her a smirk and she slapped him in the shoulder.

"No, sparring. We might as well take the opportunity to have you use your full potential with so little students still here for break."

Jaune thought for a second, "That I could get behind. But, you three pretty much now all my moves at this point. Besides, we should work on our teamwork. We've been neglecting it as of late."

"I got it!" Ruby shouted and raised her hand. "What if we have a team match? Team RWBY against Team JNPR!" She said excitedly and everyone looked at her for a second.

"Now that's something I can get behind!" Yang shouted in just as much excitement.

"It would be good to improve our team dynamics." Weiss added.

"I have to qualms with this." Blake said putting down her book. And with that all the members of RWBY were excited for this match.

Jaune thought for a second. He was very interested in this idea. "What do you say guys?" He said with a grin.

"Absolutely! Let's kick butt!" Nora shouted.

"It would be a nice change of pace from our usual routine." Pyrrha added cheerfully.

Ren nodded, "It would be a good learning experience."

Jaune just turned to Ruby and stood, "Ruby Rose! I, Jaune Arc, leader of Team JNPR challenge your team to a match!" Jaune said with a serious look as he was staring down Ruby.

Ruby returned the glare and stood on her chair to stare at Jaune in the eyes, "We accept your challenge!" She said in just a serious tone. The two leaders stared at each other until the two of them grinned and laughed. Once they got themselves under control Jaune spoke again.

"Alright. You all go change. I'll get my gear and set everything up in the sparring rooms." Everyone agreed and they went their separate ways. Jaune grabbed his armor and swords. He made sure that the servos and handles were still working properly before he made his way to the sparring room. He went to the controls to one of the larger rings and started to set up all the safety measures. He was just about finished when everyone entered. "Perfect timing. I set it up so if your aura goes into the red your scroll will give an alert along with the speakers going off. Ring outs are enabled just so you all know." He set the timer to start the match in two minutes and everyone got into the ring. They two teams stood on opposite sides and were getting ready.

"So what's the plan, Fearless Leader?" Nora asked, fully pumped up.

"Well, Nora. Since you're our powerhouse, how do you feel about taking on Yang?"

Nora jumped up and down, "Awesome!"

Jaune chuckled, "If her Semblance starts to become too much for you, just call for me and I'll give you a 'pick me up' with Raikiri." She nodded with her slightly evil looking grin. Jaune then turned to Ren, "How do you feel about taking on Blake?"

Ren looked up for a second, considering before nodding. "I should be able to do that." He said with a small smile.

Jaune then turned to Pyrrha, "So, Partner, think you can handle Ruby? She'd utterly school me at long-range."

She smiled. "Would be my pleasure. So, you'll take Weiss?"

Jaune nodded before he turned back to the other team, "She's their most versatile fighter but I think I can give her a run for her money." He cracked his knuckles before drawing Raikiri. "If things start to go south for any of us, just whistle and we'll come up with a counter strategy. For now, let's keep things simple." Everyone got into their fighting stances and waited for the last thirty seconds to go by. The timer went off and Jaune immediately shot forward in a burst of lightning. He stopped in front of RWBY before he discharged a large amount of lightning causing them to scatter.

* * *

Yang skidded across the arena and was about to charge the swordsman when she noticed the shadow below her. She looked up to see Nora coming down on her with Magnhild in hammer mode. She crossed her arms to take the hit and the crater forming around them was evident enough to show they both were serious. They both grinned at their opponent before dealing a few blows to each other. Nora seemed to have the upper hand until Yang's Semblance kicked in and Nora quickly jumped back with a barrage of grenades. Yang discharged a few shots from Ember Celica to stop them. When Nora landed she turned to Jaune's direction with her hammer in the air, waving it. "Jaune, I need a hand!" Jaune quickly dodged a strike from Weiss before sending an arc towards Nora. Nora devoured it like a stack of pancakes before she reengaged Yang. The two clashed like two titans but this time with more fire and lightning.

* * *

Ren and Blake were currently having their own showdown. The two were using their reflexes and acrobatics to dodge each other's firearms. The two then charged each other and clashed together in a flurry of slashes from their blades. Ren broke through her defense but struck only her Shadow. Ren was able to pick up where she was using his aura senses. He quickly spun to see Blake using Gambol Shroud in its kusarigama form to try to get an edge. Ren quickly rolled backwards out of the way before opening fire on her again. Blake was able to either deflect most of the bullets using both her blade and sheathe. She than started to run to the side and started to fire on Ren as well. Ren started to move while still firing. Both knew that the one to land the first definitive hit would have a clear advantage and that would go to the one who kept their cool.

* * *

Ruby and Pyrrha were both having trouble dealing with their adversary. Ruby's Speed kept Pyrrha on edge and she couldn't get any decent hits on the reaper. Meanwhile, Pyrrha's Polarity was allowing her to either dodge Ruby's attacks or deflect them slightly. Ruby was also at a disadvantage do to Milo's changes in reach and Pyrrha's shield absorbing most of her bullets. Both were slowly chipping away at each other's aura but not at the usual rate they'd prefer. They'd have to wait for backup to have an edge but that seemed to be a long way away. They'd have to deal with it for now.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jaune and Weiss were going at each other like their lives depended on it. Jaune almost immediately had to draw a second sword to keep up with Weiss' strikes. This pushed her back, since Jaune was focused completely on his swordplay at this point in time. Jaune was about to score a decisive hit but Weiss used her Glyph as a shield at the last second. Jaune immediately kicked off it and as he was doing so, sent a wave of water at her with Suikiri. Weiss used Myrtenaster to quickly freeze the water into an ice wall. This gave Jaune the chance to switch out Raikiri for Kakiri but used the last of his lightning enhanced aura to shoot around the wall to flank Weiss. He failed to notice that Weiss had frozen the ground around her as well and he slid more than he intended.

Weiss used this opportunity to thrust at him with the help of one of her Glyphs. Jaune used his increased reflexes from his water enhanced aura to barely dodge, while following up with slamming Kakiri into the ground to both melt the ice and create a thick mist. Weiss kept herself on edge looking for Jaune until she saw all the water he just melted coming down on he from above. She reflexively froze the water into a giant icicle. Jaune flew at it from out of the mist with a smirk, "Thanks, Snow Angel." Was all he said before he kicked it towards Blake and Ren with his enhanced strength. "Ren!" he shouted before reengaging with Weiss.

* * *

At this point, Ren and Blake were both circling each other. Waiting for the right moment to strike. Ren heard Jaune and from the corner of his eye saw the icicle flying at them. He got the message, loud and clear. He pulled StormFlower back into his sleeves before he back flipped over the icicle and hitting it with his aura palms. This created a hailstorm of ice towards Blake. Blake used her blades to deflect them but wasn't prepared for Ren to charge her from the side. As she turned, Ren hooked his blades onto her katana and spun, disarming her of her sword as he threw it. He was about to capitalize until he heard a voice. "REN!" he turned to see Nora flying at him. He turned to catch her and both slid backwards. They couldn't catch their breath though due to Yang sending off shots at them. The two jumped back. Blake turned to see Yang, giving her a two finger salute, with her Semblance still active, before charging towards Weiss and Jaune.

Jaune had swapped out Suikiri for Dokiri, he didn't like giving Weiss more ammo to use against him. She was sending icicles at him with the help of her Glyphs but he either just tanked the hits or shattered it with his strength. He sent a wave of fire at her and she used another Glyph to defend herself. Jaune was about to rush her again, until he saw a fireball coming at him. He crossed his blades in front of him to block Yang's punch, but the two hitting together shook the whole ring, possibly the whole room. The two just stared each other down until Yang cocked a smirk, "Mind if I _cut_ in?" she said.

Jaune chuckle slightly at her terrible pun, "Nah, I don't mind _shaking_ things up." He said with the same smirk before slamming his foot on the ground to cause a tremor. This caused Yang to lose her footing and Jaune kicked off her to get some reprieve. He used Kakiri to pull some of the fire from Yang and mixed it with his own flames before sending it towards Ruby and Pyrrha. "Partner!" was all he shouted until he got knock further back because of a small vortex created by Weiss. Jaune slammed into the ground and looked to see both Yang and Weiss getting ready to attack him.

* * *

Pyrrha and Ruby were engaged in a power struggle until they saw the giant fireball coming towards them. They both jumped back from each other as the fireball hit the ground and created a wall of flames. Pyrrha looked to see her partner being double teamed, she threw her shield at Weiss before firing a few shots at Yang. She than sprinted towards them to back him up. Ruby saw this and used her Semblance to get there before her.

* * *

Jaune was on the defensive now. He had to deal with Yang's destructive punches and Weiss' precise strikes. They worked very well together, considering they fought most of the time. He heard a familiar sound and quickly jumped straight up. Akouo came flying directly at Weiss but once again used a Glyph to stop it. Jaune came down with an axe kick on top of Akouo's edge and used it as a wedge to shatter Weiss' Glyph. She was stunned and Yang was about to defend her but the shots from Pyrrha caught her off guard and made her roll out of the way. Jaune was about to blast Weiss with fire until red rose petals appeared in front of him. Next thing he knew; Crescent Rose was biting into his aura. He was knocked back and when he recovered, he saw the RWY of RWBY ready to gang up on him. He quickly brought up an earth wall in front of him and kicked off of it with all his strength and aura. That sent him flying back towards Pyrrha and shattered the earth wall into a wave of rock shrapnel towards the girls.

Jaune landed next to Pyrrha and both were trying to catch their breath. A second later Blake joined up with her team as Ren and Nora rejoined them. Jaune looked at the display on the wall and saw that they were all getting low on aura. He sighed before grinning, "Ren, Nora." The two looked at him as he a pointed to his back with his thumb, "Let's knock the dust off our old combo." They nodded with their own grins. Everyone watched as they stepped behind Jaune, Nora than drew Raikiri and held it in her left hand and Ren drew Fukiri with his right. Everyone was shocked, they believed that only Jaune had access to his blades. "Pyrrha, give us cover?" She came out of her stupor with a nod and knelt with Milo in its rifle form as the rest of her team charged RWBY.

They were taken off guard by this but were about to retaliate until Pyrrha's covering fire got to them. Weiss put up one more Glyph to defend all of them and they all got to see what happened next. Nora absorbed all of Raikiri's electricity before spinning with her hammer. Jaune grabbed Ren and jumped into the air. His feet hit Nora's hammer and sent the two of them flying towards their target. Almost immediately, Jaune let go of Ren and he spun with Fukiri, using its wind to send Jaune even faster at RWBY. Jaune crossed Kakiri and Dokiri in front of him as rocks and fire surrounded him. With his augmented strength and durability enhanced by the high speed he was traveling at, he broke right through the Glyph and the force of the impact he hit the ground at caused the girls to be scattered.

He was kneeling on the ground breathing deeply. Until he felt the gravity around him increase drastically. He looked up to see Weiss also kneeling and pointing Myrtenaster at him with a black Glyph above him. "That was impressive, Jaune, but I suggest you give up now." She said out of breath. Jaune slowly shook his head and tried with all his strength to stand. Weiss saw this and tried to increase the force of her Glyph. If it wasn't for Jaune's strength and durability being augmented, his bones would probably be broken right now. Both knew they were putting everything they had into doing what they were trying to do, this was a battle of wills. Until Weiss' aura went into the red and her Glyph disappeared. She collapsed and Jaune stood up. Jaune went to switch out his swords but when he did, his sheathes felt off. They weren't moving like they usually do. He was taken out of this thought when Yang connected a fist to his face.

He was sent out of the ring and hit the far wall, creating a massive indent and he then fell to the ground as his aura was gone. The buzzer went off signalling this. He tried to stand but collapsed instantly. He was on the brink of passing out when he heard Pyrrha shouting his name and heard footsteps running towards him. He was then moved into a sitting position by her and she was looking down at him. "Jaune, are you okay?!" She said worriedly.

He nodded slightly, "Yeah. Lucky I still had my Semblance working its magic or I'd probably be in bad shape." He said weakly with a small chuckle.

"Jaune, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hit you that hard. You usually dodge or parry when I go all out." Yang said. He looked over to her and she looked worried. So did everyone else. Looks like they forgot about the match.

He shook his head, "Its fine, Sun Fire. I just got distracted when my sheathes didn't respond to my command. Speaking of which." He sat up more and pulled the sheathes off his back and placed them on the ground, he than applied pressure with his fingers to try to move them. The sheathes would try to move but would stop halfway before giving up. After a try or two, Jaune just sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I think that increased gravity damaged the servos."

Weiss looked troubled, "I'm sorry, Jaune. I'll pay for the damages." She hurriedly said, feeling terrible for what she did but Jaune just waved it off.

"It's fine, Weiss. The servos burn out all the time, I have to replace them on a regular basis anyways. You just gave me the incentive to do it sooner." He smiled at her and she returned a smaller one. He picked up his sheathes and with a grunt of exertion, pushed them back to their standby positions. He sheathed Kakiri and Dokiri before Ren and Nora came over to him and sheathed the blades they borrowed. He placed them on his back as Ruby jumped in front of him.

"Jaune. Why didn't you tell us anyone besides you can use your swords? You always gave the impression that only you could draw them." She just gave him a betrayed look.

He felt a little bad and rubbed the back of his neck, "I guess that never came up. The sheathes only respond to certain auras and only allow the individuals with those auras to draw the swords. Nora, Ren and I are the only ones that they allow to use them. And I didn't mention it before because how often does anyone else besides me need to use my weapons?" No one responded and he continued, "Now as much as I would love to continue this conversation, let's get out of here before Goodwitch shows up and blows a gasket over the mess we made." They all agreed before running out of the sparring room.


	24. Reforging a Friendship

After the eight students had their mad dash across the school to try to avoid the wrath of one Goodwitch, they all found themselves in the courtyard. Although, they soon realized that they were missing Jaune. The girls looked worried for a second until Ren and Nora told them that he does this all the time and they should be used to it by now. After a second or two they realized that they were right and decided on what to do next.

Yang decided she was going to go to Vale to get a few things and Blake offered to go with her so she could stop by her favorite bookstore. Nora also wanted to tag along to see more of Vale and Ren decided to go as well to keep an eye on the cheery bomber. Weiss decided that she wanted to get a head start on the next semester's work and wanted to first go over her notes from last semester. Pyrrha asked if she would mind the company, since the two girls rarely ever spent time together. Pyrrha believed that it would be a more enjoyable experience since Weiss wasn't obsessed with her and acted more normal lately, well normal for Weiss. Weiss agreed and then extended the offer to Ruby, who politely declined. She didn't want to study over her break and wanted to tune up Crescent Rose. With that they all went their separate ways.

Ruby was skipping her way to the forge, she was excited to spend the next few hours fine tuning her sweetheart. When she arrived she was shocked to see Jaune already there. He had his sheathes on the workbench in front of him and was engrossed in his work. Ruby walked up behind him and saw that he had the back panel off the sheathes to see into the inner workings of his weapons, along with a plethora of tools that he would need. He was currently looking into the opening with a pair of tweezers and a cloth with a half a dozen metal pieces and the bulk of the servo.

"Hey, Jaune!" she decided to make herself known to her best friend. Not expecting anyone to be here, he jumped and nearly knocked a few things off of his workbench. He looked at Ruby with wide eyes but soon calmed with his hand on his chest.

"Oum, Ruby. Don't do that, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

She giggled sheepishly, "Sorry but you usually are more aware though."

He sighed, "I'm trying to get all the metal pieces that broke off of the servo before I put the new one in. You know the deal with mecha shifting weapons, mine may not be as advanced as most but the flaws are still there." She nodded, if one little thing was out of place in a mecha shifting weapon it could easily damage the weapon further or possibly damage them beyond repair.

"Do you need help?" she decided to offer him.

Jaune just smiled at her but shook his head, "I appreciate the offer, Ruby, but I prefer to do this on my own. I should be the one to fix it, you know, they're kinda my responsibilities." He looked back at his weapons with a small smile. She nodded and liked the look that Jaune had. It was the look of pride that someone had in an accomplishment. Similar to what she had for Crescent Rose.

"Okay, Jaune. I'll leave you to it." She smiled and walked past him to the workbench right next to him and started working on Crescent Rose. It was about a half an hour later and Ruby looked over to Jaune. She noticed he had pulled out a few more pieces of metal and was now looking into the inner workings with a flashlight to be sure he got them all. Ruby then looked at the broken servo and back at his swords. They all seemed perfectly fine, especially considering that the servo was damaged so badly. She didn't want to bother Jaune when he was concentrating but her curiosity won out, again.

"Hey Jaune, can I ask you a question?"

Without looking up he answered her, "You kinda did, Ruby." He soon put down the flashlight and turned to her with a smirk, he was convinced he got all the metal pieces out. "What's the question?"

"How come your sheathes and swords weren't damaged by Weiss' Glyph but the servo was?"

"The metal that the sheathes are made of is almost indestructible. It's rare but I was able to make the sheathes out of it, so they withstood the high gravity. And because the swords were inside the sheathes, they couldn't get too warped." He picked up the servo and tossed it into the air before catching it. "The servo isn't as resistant though."

Ruby nodded and Jaune began the task of installing a brand new servo. Even though he has done this countless times before, he had to be careful to not make any mistakes. Halfway through with his task, Ruby brought up another question. "So if they break constantly, why didn't you make the servo out of the same metal as the sheathes?"

Jaune didn't look up from his task but answered all the same, "The metal is pretty heavy. Making the servo out of the metal would've slowed down the speed and would take more time for the sheathes to move into position. But in the same regard, a too light of a metal wouldn't be able to deal with the weight either." He was almost done installing the servo at this point, "Luckily though, I was able to find a metal that was light enough to not slow down the sheathes but strong enough that it could take the strain. They still burn out but I can't do anything about that though." He stood up straight and tested to see if the sheathes were working again. To his satisfaction, they were as good as new. "Perfect!"

Ruby was done fine tuning her weapon as well and was packing up. Until she saw Jaune still looking at his swords, deep in thought. "What's up, Jaune?"

He turned to her and decided to answer her. "Trying to think of a way to improve on my swords for the future."

This may have been a mistake because Ruby went wide eye and started shaking. "Let me help! It would be so cool to work on your swords! Please!? We could configure them to turn into rifles! Or maybe something cooler!" She was practically jumping up and down at this point until Jaune put his hand on her head.

"Whoa, Ruby. Calm down." He smiled at her. "I would love some help but I don't want anything too out there. So, can you back up a bit on that train of yours?" She looked sheepish because she lost it but nodded. He then ruffled her hair and she blushed slightly. "Thank you."

She than stood next to him and looked at his weapons with him, "So, what do you want to do?"

"Well, I originally designed them to link together to form longswords to help with my Semblance when I use an Advance Element, but you already know this." She nodded. "Now that I know that I can fuse three elements together and I've been working on mastering Particle, I wanna incorporate it into my swords to use when its ready."

She nodded, "So, what's the major issue?"

"Here, I'll show you." He pulled out Kakiri and Fukiri and laid them done on the table with their dull sides facing each other. "See they were originally only designed to only link two together. They link up like this to form the longsword. But because of the way I designed them, it's impossible to combine three swords. Also, I don't wanna reforge all my swords yet. It'd be too time consuming and I have no idea on any other Exceed Elements."

Ruby nodded and thought carefully. Jaune and her were deep in thought for a few minutes. Suddenly, Ruby got an idea and clapped her hands together. "What if we only reforge one sword?" Jaune looked at her and motioned for her to continue. "What if we take one of the three swords you would need for the combo and reforge it into a broadsword?" She grabbed a piece of paper and quickly sketched a broadsword with two single edged short swords on either side of it. "See? With the broadsword you could connect the other two on the sides. We would just need to make the blade longer and reconfigure the hilt."

Jaune looked at the paper for a while and thought it over. He then turned to her with a huge smile. "I love that brain of yours!" She smiled brightly at that. "Although, I need to see if we have the metal to increase the length of the blade." He walked over to all the storeroom that contained all the metals for the forge. "Looks like there's just enough!" He shouted before emerging with a few bars of metal. He set them on the workbench closest to the forge and started to get the fire ready. "I'll grab my swords in a second." He told Ruby.

"Don't worry, I got them." Ruby replied.

It took Jaune a second for what she said to click. "Uh, Ruby, that may not be a…."

He was cut off when he heard, "Wah!" That was all she yelled before he heard metal hit the floor and then what sounded like a person following afterwards. He turned to find his swords in their sheathes on the floor with Ruby laying on the ground as well. She soon sat up and was rubbing her nose.

"Good idea." Jaune sighed before going over to her. "I tried to warn you."

"How do you carry them? They weigh a ton." She said in a slightly muffled voice as she was still rubbing her nose.

"How do you think I got these muscles? The muscle fairy?" He joked before he knelt down in front of her. "You okay?"

She nodded but was still holding her nose. "My nose hurts a little though." He could tell her eyes were watering at this point.

"Let me see?" She slowly took her hand away and Jaune looked at her nose. It was red but that was all. He was relieved. "It doesn't look bruised so it should feel better soon. Want me to kiss it to make it feel better?" He gave her a teasing smirk.

Ruby blushed before she gave him an annoyed look with the blush still present. "You've been hanging out with Yang too much."

Jaune chuckled and stood up before offering his hand to her, "I thought you loved your sister?"

She took his hand and he pulled her to her feet, "I do. But I don't need a second one."

Jaune leaned down to pick up his swords, "I couldn't be Yang. She has a few things I don't and they are so soft."

Ruby blushed deeper at that, "Jaune! You can't talk about my sister like that!"

Jaune looked at her confused, "Why not? Her hair is soft. Besides, I don't think I could pull off the long hair look." He smirked at her and she realized what he did and she was further annoyed and blushed even deeper. He laughed at his own joke and she was getting less happy by the second.

"You're not funny!" She yelled and pouted angrily.

Jaune stopped laughing at that. He walked over to her and pulled her into a side hug, "I'm sorry, Ruby. Can you forgive me?" She was quiet for a second before looking up at him and sighing. She nodded. Jaune smiled and kissed the top of her head. "I knew you loved me." He said cheerfully and walked the two of them over to the forge. Meanwhile, Ruby was blushing and thinking about that. 'Do I love Jaune?!'

The two started to get to work after that. Jaune decided to reforge Kakiri, due to the fact that he usually used his enhanced strength when wielding it and with it located in the middle of the sheathes, it wouldn't upset the balance of the sheathes weight. Jaune removed all the dust from the handle and put it into a vial before setting it to the side. They then removed the circuits from the blade and the blade itself from the handle. Jaune started to stoke the forge and when it was ready, added the blade and metal bars to melt them down. Around that time, they were getting hungry and Ruby offered to grab them food from the cafeteria. When she returned, she saw that Jaune had taken off his hoodie and had only his black shirt on. She blushed when she realized how much more of his muscles she could see. They took a break to eat before resuming their work.

Jaune stayed at the forge to keep it at the proper temperature. He also used his Semblance to help with the task. Meanwhile, Ruby offered to reconfigure the hilt. Jaune agreed because out of everyone at the school, Ruby was one of the only people he'd trust with his weapon. When she was close to finishing the hilt, Jaune was pouring out the molten metal into the shape of the new blade. Once the metal was ready, he started working the metal until it felt right to him before he started to sharpen the blade. When they were both done, they reconnecting the hilt back onto the blade. They then began the long process of installing the circuits for the dust. With both their expertise, the process took a lot less time but was still very slow and time consuming. But soon the sword was now done.

Jaune picked up the sword and gave it a few practice swings. It felt different but felt right in his hands. He added the fire dust back into the handle and activated it. The edges and circuits started to glow the usual red. Soon the sword blade was surrounded in flames and Jaune just smiled. He was going to love using the new and improved Kakiri. "Feels great." Ruby smiled at that and Jaune went over to the workbench to draw Fukiri and Dokiri. "Time to see if this works." He connected the three blades together and they formed a bastard sword. He gave a few practice swings, he wasn't used to the new weight and length of this new combination. "Well, it works but I'm gonna have to practice with this before it feels right." He looked back to Ruby with a smile, "Thank you, Ruby. I owe you a batch of cookies."

She tried to wave it off, "You don't need to, Jaune. It was fun!" She said cheerfully.

"That mean you don't want them?" he asked knowing the answer.

She looked down sheepishly, "Well, if you feel like it."

Jaune chuckled, "I never mind, Ruby."

She smiled brightly before she thought of something, "What are you going to name it?"

He looked it over for a second, "I think Jinkiri has a nice ring to it." Ruby just nodded and Jaune disassembled Jinkiri before sheathing Fukiri and Dokiri. Ruby realized that Kakiri's sheathe was too small now and was about to point this out to Jaune. But he simply put Kakiri on the table and pulled out his scroll. He tapped away on it for a few seconds and Kakiri's sheathed detached from the others. He moved it to the side and started to type more into his scroll and soon the sheathe started to shift to the new size of the blade. Ruby stared in awe. "Because I like to improve my weapons, Mother had me meet an old friend of her's. He's a genius with technology and made the sheathes out of hundreds of tiny machines made from the metal, so I could easily adjust them if I need to." Ruby nodded. Jaune put away the new Kakiri and reattached the sheathes back together.

They left after that and headed to the dorms. It was about ten now and they wanted to sleep. Jaune had his hoodie over his shoulder and Ruby had a few questions she still wanted to ask him. "Jaune, can I ask a couple more questions?" He nodded slightly tired. "Why do you use tradition knight swords when your master used katanas?"

"My family always used traditional weaponry or weapons that looked traditional. I decided that I wanted to carry on the tradition. Although, I do know how to fight with a katana."

Ruby nodded, "Have you ever used any other weapon besides a sword?"

"I used to use a dagger I 'borrowed' from my father when I left home. Had it for a while but it eventually broke. Kinda a shame, I would still use it if I still had it."

They were almost at their rooms now and Ruby had one last question. She stopped in the hall and Jaune stopped as well and looked at her confused. Ruby was looking down sheepishly with a mild blush "Why don't you give me a nickname? Everyone else on my team has one?"

Jaune was taken back, "You want a nickname?" Ruby nodded. Jaune thought for a second, "How about Rosebud?"

She looked up at him slightly confused, "Why Rosebud?"

"Well, I think it suits you. You're still young but in the future, there is no telling how beautiful you'll be. Just like a rosebud. Plus, no matter how beautiful the rose, they always have thorns. Like our resident reaper." Ruby blushed fully and stared at him and Jaune was concerned, "Do you not like it?"

She quickly shook her head, "NO no no! I like it! Thank you, Jaune." She said happily.

He smiled, "No problem. Well, good night, Rosebud." Was the last thing he said before he went into his room. Ruby smiled brightly before going into her own. She changed into her pajamas and laid down in her bed. She smiled happily while thinking, 'I don't know if I love Jaune but I'm happy to be his Rosebud.' That what she thought before falling asleep.


	25. Honor and Curse

It was the next morning and Jaune decided it would be one of the rare occasions that he'd sleep in. He had nothing to do today and after reforging Kakiri with assistance from Ruby, he felt like he earned it. He was enjoying the peace until life decided to throw a wrench into his plans. That wrench being the one and only Nora Valkyrie.

"Wake up, Fearless Leader!" She shouted as she belly flopped onto Jaune. He had the air knocked out of him and was knocked off onto the floor. He was groaning as he stood up and just stared at Nora as she sat on his bed in her pajamas with a proud smile on her face.

"Nora, why? I never sleep in, so why would you wake me up?" He asked tiredly and bummed that he was woken up.

Nora tilted her head and thought for a second before she shrugged, "Because I never get to wake you up. So I can't resist to do it when I can." She said with her usual smile. Jaune wiped a hand down his face and sighed, it was too soon to deal with Nora with this much energy. He hadn't even gotten his coffee yet. He looked to see Pyrrha already dressed and at her desk reading. He could also hear the shower going and realized that's where Ren was. "By the way, Jaune, what happened to you yesterday? You just disappeared and didn't come back til late. You weren't off on another adventure without us again, right?" She stood on his bed and pointed an accusing finger at him.

Jaune just rolled his eyes before grabbing the tip of her finger with his index and thumb. As she looked at her finger confused, he smirked and pulled her legs out from under her. She fell onto the bed again and Jaune was on top of her with a pillow. "Wanna wake me up, huh?" he said with the same smirk before he started beating her with the pillow. Nora tried to get out from under Jaune but she couldn't and she couldn't reach for a pillow to use as her own weapon. She quickly looked to Pyrrha who was watching with a smile on her face.

Nora quickly held her hand out to Pyrrha, "Pyrrha! Help me! You're my only hope!" Pyrrha looked at Nora then Jaune before she picked up her own pillow and threw it at Jaune like she would her shield. Jaune looked up just in time to have it hit him in the face. He fell off Nora and onto the floor, again. He looked at her from his spot on the floor, she was trying not to laugh.

"Traitor." Was all he said before Pyrrha started to giggle and shrugged.

He quickly looked up and saw Nora jumping into the air with the pillow above her head. "Nora Bomb!" is what she shouted as she was coming down. Jaune's eyes widened and he quickly rolled under his bed before Nora landed on him. While she was distracted he rolled under the bed right next to his, which happened to be Pyrrha's, and waited. Nora was tip toeing around his bed until she was between Jaune's and Pyrrha's.

"Oh, Jaune!" she said in a sing song voice. "Come on out, I won't hurt you." She started to lean down to look under his bed but as soon as she did, Jaune's hands shot out from under Pyrrha's bed and grabbed her ankles. She yelped in surprise before Jaune started to pull her under Pyrrha's bed. As soon as she was under the bed, Jaune started to tickle her relentlessly. All you could hear was Nora laughing like a madwoman and Jaune chuckling evilly. Soon Nora's hands shot out from under the foot of Pyrrha's bed and started to pull herself out while she was still laughing. She looked to Pyrrha again. "Save me!" she was trying to say through her laughing fit.

She started to get pulled back under with Jaune saying in a cliché evil voice, "There's no escape for you, Miss Valkyrie." Nora started to claw at the carpet trying to stop herself from being pulled back down into that tickle hell.

"No! Please, Jaune, I'm sorry! Please, forgive me!" She shouted in a last attempt to be freed. She stopped being pulled and she relaxed slightly. Until a sudden yank pulled her back under.

"Never!" was all Jaune shouted before he started to resume his tickling. Pyrrha was just laughing at the two. Ren soon exited the bathroom and heard the laughing but couldn't see his teammates. He looked to Pyrrha with a raised eyebrow and all she did was point under her bed. Ren just sighed and shook his head slightly with a small smile on his face. Soon the laughing stopped and Jaune climbed out from under the bed. He was dusting himself off with a smile on his face. He then went to get his clothes for the day.

"So, Jaune. What did happen to you yesterday?" Pyrrha asked now that he was awake now and not tickling Nora to death.

"I went to the forge to fix my sheathes." He pointed to them still on his desk. "Ruby showed up not long after that to work on Crescent Rose. After we were both done, she helped me improve my weapons."

At this point, Nora was slowly dragging herself out from under the bed. She was breathing raggedly but slowly turned to Jaune, "You…you haven't improved them in a while…what did you do?" she asked tiredly.

Jaune simply put his clothes on his bed before he went over to his desk. He put his right glove on and applied pressure with his middle finger and Kakiri's handle deployed. He drew it and showed his teammates. "We reforged Kakiri into a broadsword." He surrounded its blade in fire to show them. "And it looks so badass." He said with a smile.

They all looked at it and agreed. "But why, Jaune?" Ren asked. "You seemed fine with the short sword version. Why change it?"

Jaune just smirked before dismissing the flames. He drew Fukiri and attached it to Kakiri before doing the same with Dokiri. He turned around to show him his latest sword. "I needed to add a new sword to my collection. Jinkiri."

All three just stared in awe. Nora quickly got up and ran before stopping in front of Jaune just staring at the bastard sword. "Wow. Jaune, it's so big. It's so long and so thick." she said this out loud in a mesmerized tone.

Jaune was about to say something until their door flew open and Jaune reacted on instinct. He held his new sword to the throat of the intruder. Who appeared to be a wide eyed Weiss, just staring in shock at the blade at her neck. Jaune just sighed before he rested his sword on his shoulder. "Oum, Weiss, be careful. That could've gone bad. And why the hell did you kick our door in?" He motioned to the door. All Weiss did was just stare until RWBY's door opened up and the rest of her the team came out.

"What is going on? Some of us were trying to sleep." Yang said slightly annoyed.

Jaune shrugged, "Don't know. Weiss just kicked our door in and I almost tested my new blade on her." The other three girls looked to see his new sword. They were all shocked, Blake and Yang to see the new blade and Ruby to hear Weiss almost got hurt. Until everyone went back to looking at Weiss. She finally seemed to come back to reality.

She cleared her throat nervously, "You were being loud. I was going to ask you to be quieter. But when I was about to knock, I heard Nora say something…. indecent. So my mind, jumped to a conclusion and before I knew it, I kicked your door in." She finished sheepishly and looked away.

Jaune just looking at her while her teammates were in disbelief. "Uh, I was just showing my team my new sword that Ruby helped me with." He looked over to her for a second. "I'll be baking you those cookies today by the way, Rosebud." He said with a smile and she had a light blush but smiled regardless. Jaune turned back to Weiss. "Besides, as I've stated before, there is nothing between me and Nora beside sibling love. Nothing romantic."

Nora walked up next to him and hugged him, "Yeah! Jaune is just my brother and Fearless Leader! I love him but not like that, that would be weird!" She looked up to him with her head tilted slightly, "Right?"

Jaune nodded, "It would be pretty weird." He turned back to their sister team. "So, we good?" They nodded. "Great. Let me and Nora shower so we can all meet up in the cafeteria for breakfast." He was about to close to the door but stopped. "And please don't kick our door in again. What if next time I'm naked?" This caused the girls to blush at that before he closed the door. Jaune put his swords away and showered before dressing in his usual clothes.

The day went by normally. They relaxed mostly and just enjoyed their time off. Around midday, Jaune baked Ruby her cookies and she thanked him profusely. Both teams went to the library later to have some fun. Jaune and Ren paired up to play some shogi with Nora and Ruby watching and adding some unique color commentary. While Weiss and Pyrrha had a game of chess right next to them. Blake was reading close by watching both games and Yang was trying to amuse herself by trying to distract the four people concentrating on their respective games. They pretty much ignored her, until Yang hugged Jaune tightly from behind and pushed her breasts against his back. While whispering something into his ear. This caused him to blush like mad and jump up quickly to get away, but this also caused him to accidentally knock over the table. To say the pieces to the games went everywhere would be an understatement.

Later that night, Jaune and Pyrrha went to the roof for one of their usual spars. Only this time Jaune was using his new bastard sword. He was trying to get used to the weight and trying to slowly master it. Pyrrha helped him out, giving him advice and helping him with his stance. By the end of their spar, Jaune had a good idea on how he would fight with Jinkiri. But he had a way to go. He also felt like Pyrrha was distracted during most of the day. The two of them were sitting on the edge of the roof and were drinking from their water bottles.

"Thanks, Pyrrha. I think I've got a better idea on my fighting style. Although, I do feel bad that we focused a bit more on me than you."

Pyrrha quickly waved it off, "It's fine, Jaune. Next time you can make it up to me by fighting me without your Semblance. I wouldn't mind that rematch from Combat Class." She smiled lightly.

He returned the smile, "You got it." They had a comfortable silence before Jaune decided to bring it up. "So, what's been bothering you?" She looked like she was going to deny it but Jaune just put his hand up. "You know I won't leave it be til you tell me. So, what's up?"

She looked away for a second before she looked back, "I've just been thinking about Nora and Ren using your swords. Why didn't you tell me they could do that?"

Jaune sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "To be honest, it slipped my mind." She looked at him shocked and he continued, "Since we lived outside the Kingdoms, I wanted to make sure that no one could wield my swords besides those I trust. So, they are designed to only respond to certain auras to make sure of that. The only respond to myself, Nora and Ren. But we haven't had to resort to it in a while, so I just didn't say anything."

Pyrrha looked away and slowly nodded, "I see. People you trust. That makes sense." She said this in a sad voice but before Jaune could say anything, she had stood up. "I should really go shower and head to bed. Good night, Jaune." She looked at him with a smile and said it in a cheery voice, but Jaune knew Pyrrha had faked it. He had just hurt her. Next thing he knew, she was by the door and heading back into the dorms.

He face palmed before he sighed, "I'm an idiot. Of course the way I had to phrase it would be the thing to hurt her." He looked up at the fractured moon, "I have to make this up to her. And the only way is what I should've done a long time ago." He nodded to himself and waited on the roof. He wanted to give Pyrrha her space. After about half an hour or so, he went down and found his team asleep. He went to shower before heading to bed.

He woke up the next morning at 5. He got out of bed and went over to Pyrrha to gently shake her awake. She soon woke up and looked at Jaune, she rubbed her eyes before saying tiredly, "Jaune? What's wrong?"

He put his finger to his lip and quietly said, "Come with me, this is important." She looked at him confused before she nodded. She followed as he grabbed his swords and left the dorm. They made their way to the roof and the whole way Pyrrha was wondering what was going on. As they got there, Jaune sat down, cross-legged close to the edge. He pulled his swords in their sheathes onto his lap before he motioned for Pyrrha to do the same across from him. She followed his example and waited to see what would happen.

He just looked at her for a bit before he took a deep breath. "First, I want to apologize, Pyrrha. I made it sound like I don't trust you but that can't be further from the truth. I trust you just as much as Ren and Nora. So to make it up to you, I'm gonna do something I should've done a long time ago." He took out his scroll and typed away at it, until a spot just above where the servo is located opened up, revealing a scanner. Pyrrha looked up at him and he explained, "Just put your hand on the scanner and when I tell you, send a bit of your aura into it." He gave her a small smile. She nodded and slowly placed her hand on the scanner before looking back to him.

He took a deep breath, "I, Jaune Arc, give you this choice. To be one of few that can wield these blades. To use them in my stead and to stand beside me. These swords are my creations and in some way, my very life. Do you accept this honor and this curse?" He just looked at her with a serious look and waited for her answer.

Without hesitation she replied. "I, Pyrrha Nikos, accept both this honor and this curse. I pledge to use these blades in your stead and to stand beside you. I will use these swords to defend you and your life. I pledge my very life on this."

Jaune smiled lightly and nodded. She did the same before she sent her aura into the scanner. After a few seconds the sheathes and blades started to glow red, like her aura, until it disappeared. She took her hand away and the panel closed. Jaune shifted the sheathes so the handles would point towards Pyrrha. "Draw a sword and honor this oath." She held her hand above the handles and one deployed. She looked to Jaune and he nodded, she gripped it and drew Dokiri as she did, the sun broke over the horizon. It illuminated both of them in a golden light. Jaune looked over at it and smiled, "Perfect timing."

Pyrrha just looked at Jaune, as his eyes and hair seemed to shine with the light of the new day. She blushed at how handsome he looked right now. She returned Dokiri to its sheathe before she sat next to him. He attached them to his back and sat there watching the sunrise with Pyrrha, "So did I make up for being an idiot?"

She giggled slightly, "I would say so." She leaned her head on his shoulder, "Thank you for trusting me, Jaune."

"It wasn't hard, Pyrrha. I've always trusted you but I decided to show you, rather than just tell you." He smiled.

"By the way, was that oath actually part of the process?" She asked slightly tired.

Jaune chuckled slightly, "Nope. I just have a flare for the dramatics." He expected Pyrrha to either laugh or hit him gently. He looked to see that she fell asleep. He just smiled and slowly brought her into his arms to carry her bridal style. "Let's get you back to bed." Was all he said as he carried her back to their room. He tucked her into her bed and she had the most peaceful and happy expression he's seen to date.


	26. Clarification

Jaune was walking throughout the grounds of Beacon, yawning loudly. He was extremely tired considering the day he had yesterday. He shuddered slightly at the memory.

After tucking in Pyrrha after giving her access to his swords, he decided to head down to the training rooms to practice further with Jinkiri. As much as he appreciated Pyrrha's help, the two tended to hold back against each other. Both afraid to hurt their partner. Also, sometimes Pyrrha didn't agree with his riskier ideas but they always produced the best results. So, he went down to the training room and set up a few training drones to practice on. He set them to an intermediate level and prepared to start. He usually fought twice this number at a higher level but he knew he wouldn't stand a chance at that level with his new weapon. At least not yet. After about an hour and a half of fighting against the robots he decided he got more used to his new blade. Still a far cry from his usual fighting levels but he could at least hold his own now.

After that, he placed his swords to the side and started working on his hand to hand on a few more drones. He fought Yang more times than he could count but fighting multiple opponents at once was a good change. He did this for an hour and took a fifteen-minute break. When he was back to normal, he started to work on strength training. Although his Semblance could increase his abilities, if he wanted to improve at all he'd need to increase his base stats. For the next hour and a half, he did a hundred pull-ups, with each arm, two-hundred crunches upside down, two-hundred squats, a hundred-fifty bench presses lifting twice his weight. He just finished his reps and was about to take a breather when Nora and Yang came in. His day just got a lot more exhausting after that.

Nora made him do his usual a hundred pushups with her on his back, but with a twist. Yang would also be on his back. Usually, Jaune could reach the upper seventies before he started tiring. But with both Yang and Nora, he was struggling with the mid-forties. After that was done, those two came up with at least another half a dozen crazy exercises for Jaune to do. And Jaune knew it wasn't to help him. They were both mad at him, Nora for him tickling her to near exhaustion the day before and Yang for the new nickname for Ruby. Whether that was just her being protective or jealous, he didn't know and didn't ask.

After all of that the two wouldn't let Jaune call it a day until he beat them both in a fight. Nora had him fight her with Jinkiri and both promised to not use their grenades and dust. After losing to her twice, he decided to use a loophole. When Nora went to swing at him, he rolled out of the way so he was close enough to his other swords. He grabbed Raikiri's handle just long enough to activate his Semblance before shooting at Nora in a burst of lightning. He stopped with Jinkiri's blade at her throat. He won but Nora called him a cheater. Which he responded that he didn't fight with Raikiri and just used his Semblance, which was fair game. She pouted but conceded the point.

Yang, shortly after, had him fight close combat with her with neither using a weapon. This didn't go well for Jaune. Yang kept grappling him for the obvious reason to have her body teasingly pushed up against his. With this distraction, Jaune lost seven times. The eighth match ended when Yang had him in an arm bar, her legs across his chest and his right arm between her breast. Jaune finally had enough and dislocated his right shoulder. Yang quickly let go of him in a panic but as she did, Jaune tackled her to the ground. He brought down an aura charged fist with his left arm down before stopping just before her face. He won and to Yang's ire, just popped his right arm back into its socket. He explained that he had dislocated that arm on a few occasions during his training, so he was used to it. After that, he hit the showers and was shocked to find out that it was already seven. He sighed before he went back to his dorm to relax and promptly passed out.

Today, he wasn't in terrible shape. His aura took care of any sore muscles from the day before but he was just tired. Which is why he was walking around Beacon. He couldn't sleep in with Nora around and he didn't want to be around in case those two wanted to put him through the ringer again. He did message Ren and Ruby to ask them to keep those two busy for the day as a favor. They agreed but he'd rather be safe than sorry.

"Jaune!" He was brought out of his thoughts by someone shouting. He turned to see Blake running towards him, looking excited. This was weird but he still smiled and waited for her to get to him.

She stopped in front of him and he greeted her, "Morning, Blake. You seem excited about something." He smiled at her.

She nodded, "Very. Look what I got the day I went to Vale with Yang." She pulled out the sequel to Ninjas of Love and Jaune just smiled wider. Now it made sense. "I was going to show you when I got it but you were busy with your weapons. Than yesterday, you were just gone."

He sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "Sorry about that. Nora and Yang had me working out all day. That's why I'm trying to avoid them now." He grinned and she giggled slightly. "Thank you for telling me, Blake. Let me borrow it when you're done?"

"Actually, Jaune, I had another idea." She wasn't making eye contact with him and she was blushing slightly. "Do you want to read it together?"

Jaune was taken back slightly, "That would be nice, Blake." He smiled brightly and so did she. He made a gentleman's bow, "After you, my lady." She giggled more before she gently took his hand and escorted him to the library. When they got there, they found a small love seat near the back of the library. They sat down, Blake on the Jaune's left side. Jaune put his arm on the back of the couch and Blake leaned into him slightly, she angled her body so both could read the book. They both read at the same pace so they both just enjoyed the book with someone who also enjoyed the series. After a half an hour, Jaune noticed that Blake was shaking slightly due to the AC. Jaune unzipped his hoodie and put it around her, she jumped slightly before looking at Jaune.

"You looked cold." He said.

"You sure? What about you?" She asked.

He just grinned and pulled a fire dust crystal from his pocket. "If I need to, I can use my Semblance."

She just looked at him, "Do you always have one of those on you?"

"Mother always had me carry one when I was away from my weapons." She nodded before she put her arms through the sleeves. The hoodie was too big for her but she didn't care. It was warm and smelled like Jaune. She leaned back against him and they kept reading. When they got to one of the steamy parts, Blake leaned into Jaune a bit more and Jaune unconsciously moved his arm around Blake's shoulders. Neither really noticed or minded.

They were there for a couple of hours when Jaune noticed it was taking Blake a bit longer than normal to turn the page. He looked down and noticed that she fell asleep. He just smiled and brought out his scroll to see if he had any messages. As he was doing that, Blake started mumbling in her sleep and was shaking slightly. Jaune looked and saw she had a troubled look on her face. He realized she was having a nightmare. He moved her so that her head was on his chest, so she could listen to his heart and started to slowly stroke her hair. This was what he did for Nora when she had nightmares and what Gin did for all of them when they were young. He noticed that the closer he was to her ears, the more she calmed down. So, it eventually devolved into him practically petting her. Soon she stopped mumbling and her troubled expression turned to one of peace. She was also making that purring sound.

She slowly woke up and looked at him with a half lidded expression that made Jaune's heart melt. "Morning, Kitten." Was all he said.

She smiled before her eyes snapped open and she realized his hand was on her head. Then she realized the position they were in. Someone else would've jumped up immediately but Blake calmed herself down. "Jaune, why are we like this?"

"You fell asleep and you looked like you were having a nightmare, so I moved us like this to try to soothe you." He said.

She nodded before she continued, "Why is your hand on the top of my head?"

"Well, I was stroking your hair to calm you and I noticed the closer I was to your ears, the better it was working. Sorry, I know a Faunus' animal characteristics are very personal." He slowly took his hand away.

Blake missed it immediately but she kept calm, "Jaune, be honest. Why are you so obsessed with my ears?" She asked with curiosity, nothing more.

Jaune thought for a second before he answered, "I think because now I know the real you." She was just looking at him, so he continued. "With all the other Faunus I know: Velvet, Sun, even Mother. Their characteristics were just a part of them, it didn't change how I viewed them. But with you, it's different. Seeing you with your ears out is seeing the real you, Blake. And it's because of seeing them and you trusting me with your secret that I get to know the real you. The you I wish didn't have to hide." He looked away slightly and sighed before looking back to her. "I guess, I prefer being with the real you more than the you, you have to live as to be safe from racism."

Blake just looked at him, her eyes were watering slightly and her heart was beating fast. She laid her face on his chest before she spoke, "Why do you have to be so great, Jaune? It makes it so hard to hold back." She sniffled before continuing, "I honestly love you, Jaune, but we can't be together. You would be put through so much pain and hate. You deserve better than that. I want to stop loving you, for your sake but you keep making me fall for you more and more. Please, for your sake, just stop."

She felt his hand gently cup her cheek. He slowly moved her face so she was looking at him, "You have a good heart, Blake. After everything that you've been through, you deserve to be happy. More than most. I don't know if I love you, Blake." He said this and her heart dropped slightly. "But, it's a very strong possibility." Her eyes widened and he gently wiped away her tears. "And if I do, nothing will stop me from being with you. I'm no stranger to pain and who cares if people hate me for reasons that they're too stupid to understand." He smiled genuinely at her.

She stared at him and slowly started to raise her head closer to his. Their lips were an inch apart before she stopped. She looked into his eyes and she just saw all the light in them, 'I can't do this to him.' Was all she thought as she slowly started to back away. But Jaune still had his hand on her cheek and as she felt his warmth she couldn't stop herself. She closed the distance. She felt his lips and her world exploded. She tried to hold back but she couldn't anymore. She kissed him fully as she gripped his shirt tightly. They separated and she just looked at him with a loving look, "Jaune, if you do figure out you love me, you better keep that promise."

Jaune nodded slowly, recovering from the kiss. "Arc's promise."

She smiled before she reached up to her bow. She looked around and saw no one around before she removed it. As her ears were freed, he just looked at them, "From now on, if we are ever alone together, I will only be the real me for you."

Jaune looked at her and smiled, "Thank you for the added trust, Kitten." After that, the two went back to reading their book. Both were enjoying their time together. It was around midday when Jaune asked to stop for a few minutes. Blake agreed and Jaune left to go get something for them. Blake just sat there waiting for him with a smile, she was in heaven with the day she was having. That was until she heard someone coming towards her. She had no time to put her bow back on, so she pulled the hood up on Jaune's hoodie. Just as she did, Russel and Sky from Team CRDL came around the corner. The two were talking about something before they stopped when they saw Blake. They looked at each other before they smirked and made their way over to her. Blake tried to ignore this and was pretending to read her book. Soon they were in front of her.

"Hey, aren't you Blake Belladonna?" Russel asked.

She sighed and without looking up answered, "Yes."

"Well, we noticed you were by yourself. So, we wanted to know if you wanted our company?" Sky said next with what he thought was a charming smile but it was just creepy.

Still without looking up she answered, "Why would you two want to spend time with me?" She knew the answer already.

"Why wouldn't we want to spend time with a pretty thing like you?" Russel answered her.

She sighed again. "No, thank you."

"Don't be like that. We can give you a very nice time." Sky added.

"I said, No." She added as much finality she could behind it but they weren't getting it.

"Come on, give us a shot." Russel said.

"Yeah. We can be very convincing." Sky added.

The two were getting too close for comfort but Blake was too afraid to move, in case the hood slipped. "What the hell is going on!?" someone shouted. They all looked to see Jaune marching his way over to them and he was less than happy.

"What's it to you?" Russel tried to act tough but Jaune pushed past him and stood between them and Blake.

"Considering she's important to me and wants nothing to do with you, a lot." He had a noticeable edge to his voice. "I suggest you two leave before I decide to stop being nice." His aura flared slightly.

The two looked at each other before they looked back at Jaune. Apparently, they were thinking they could take Jaune without his weapons and it being two on one. They would find out how wrong they were. "What's going on?" They all heard the voice and saw Cardin coming over. 'Great, just what I need.' Jaune thought bitterly.

Cardin stood there and just looked at the scene before he sighed and looked at his teammates. "Really? Again?" The two looked away from him and he just shook his head. "Just get out of here before Arc kicks your asses." The two mumbled their apologies before they made their way out of the library. Cardin turned to Blake and Jaune, "Sorry about them. They're good guys, they just don't think with the right head."

Jaune recovered, "No harm, no foul I guess. Kinda thought you'd be on their side on this though."

Cardin just scratched the back of his head nervously, "Well, things change." He sighed. "Look, Arc, I did a lot of crappy things last semester that I'm not proud of. I'm not going to make excuses but you gave me a wakeup call. I'm trying to make myself better and my team as well. So, I want to apologize to you for everything. I know we probably won't be friends but I want to do this right though." He held his hand out to Jaune.

He was stunned for a second before he decided to bite the bullet. He shook Cardin's hand. He started to walk away after that before Jaune stopped him. "Hey, Cardin." He looked back at him with his eyebrow raised. "If you ever wanna spar, like a friendly one, look me up." Cardin looked at him for a few seconds before nodding. He left the library and Jaune turned to Blake, who was shocked. "Did that really happen?" he asked.

She nodded, "I think it did." She said before removing the hood off her head. "Where'd you go by the way?" she asked him.

He smiled before he sat next to her and pulled out two tuna fish sandwiches. "Thought you might be hungry."

Blake took the sandwich and bit into it with a hum of happiness, "You really are perfect." She said with a smile. Jaune laughed at that and the two ate in peace. When they were done they went back to their book and enjoyed the rest of their day.


	27. Birthday

Jaune awoke and he felt extremely well rested. The day of reading with Blake must have really relaxed him. He got up and stretched before grabbing his scroll. He checked the date and his mood fell immediately. He took a deep breath before showering and getting dressed. The rest of his team was up when he came out of the bathroom, he grabbed his scroll and went to leave.

"Where are you headed, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked him out of curiosity.

Jaune quickly put on a fake smile and turned to her. "I have a few things to take care of today. Don't worry, I'll be back later. See you guys then." He waved as he left his dorm. He was just about to leave but he realized he was missing his usual hoodie. He remembered he never actually got it back from Blake, so he went to RWBY's door and knocked politely. After a minute or so, Yang answered the door in her pajamas. "Hey, Sun Fire. Did I wake you?"

She shook her head, "Nah, I was about to hop in the shower." She leaned over to get closer to Jaune's face and to give him a peak down her shirt, which per usual, he didn't do. "Feel like joining me?" She gave him a teasing smile.

Jaune returned the same smile, "That would be amazing but not today. Raincheck?"

She just rolled her eyes playfully and pulled back, crossing her arms below her chest, "You know you shouldn't keep a girl waiting."

Jaune just shrugged, "Anyways, is Blake up? I wanted to get my hoodie back from her."

Yang just looked into the room, "Sorry, Hero, she's still asleep. I could wake her if you want?"

Jaune shook his head, "No, that's fine. I'd feel bad about that."

"Too late." They both turned to see Blake getting out of bed to stretch.

"Sorry if I woke you, Kitten." Jaune said feeling bad.

She just shook her head as she walked over, "It's fine. I'm a light sleeper anyways." As she got closer, Jaune saw what she was wearing. Her usual yukata but she was wearing his hoodie on top of it. Jaune could only smile more, realizing she had slept in it made him feel happy, for reasons he did not want to think about right now.

"Did you sleep in my hoodie?" He asked with that same smile.

Blake looked down and realized what she did. She blushed like mad and tried to avoid his eyes. "Not all night. I had another nightmare and I woke up. I had your hoodie on my desk and thought that maybe it would help." She looked down at it and smiled lightly, "You have a way to calm me and it smells like you. In short, it did help." She smiled at him and he returned it.

"Well, that's good. If you ever have another nightmare, just send me a message on my scroll and I'll loan it to you during the night."

She nodded happily before Yang coughed, gaining their attentions, "Well aren't you two acting sweet, if I didn't know better; I'd say you two were a couple." Yang was straining to keep a joking sound to her voice.

Blake picked up on this immediately and stepped towards her, "Why, Yang, if I didn't know better; I'd say you were jealous." Blake said in a teasing tone.

Yang snorted, "Jealous of you? When I got all of this going on?" She motioned to herself. "I think you're the one that's jealous." She said with a slight edge to her voice.

"Really? I do perfectly fine with what I have. Not like I have to throw myself at everyone I like." Blake returned with just as much of an edge. The two were barely separated and they were staring into each other's eyes, Yang's almost turning red. That was until they saw a small vortex of wind forming between them before it expanded and pushed them apart.

They looked at each other before they turned to Jaune. He had his hand out with a wind dust crystal and his eyes were light green, plus he didn't look happy. "Enough." He said this completely serious and the girls didn't know what to do. He took a deep breath before he continued in a calmer tone. "Look, I know none of us intended to be in this position but we are. But before you two developed feeling for me, you two were friends and partners first. I don't want to be the thing that destroys that relationship." The two looked down slightly ashamed. "So, I want you two to promise me something right here, right now." The two looked at him, "Promise me that no matter what, nothing will break up your partnership and friendship. Please?" He smiled at them and they returned it.

"You have my word, Jaune." Blake said.

"Yeah, mine too." Yang said before she turned to Blake, "I'm sorry, Blake. I think I was a bit jealous." She said this as she was scratching the back of her head.

Blake nodded, "It's fine, Yang. I'm sorry too, I said some things I didn't mean. Can you forgive me?"

Yang pulled her into a hug, "Already done, partner." Blake returned the hug and the two just smiled.

Jaune smiled at the two but deep down still felt bad that he was partially responsible for this. When the two stepped apart, Jaune spoke up, "So, can I get my hoodie back?" He gave a small smile and all three laughed a bit. Blake gave it back to him and Jaune gave his goodbyes to them before leaving the dorms. He slowly made his way to the cliffs that he and the other students were launched off of for initiation. He sat down near the edge of the cliff and stared out at the Emerald Forest before he pulled out his scroll and selected the number he wanted. He let it ring until he heard a woman's voice pick up.

"Arc residents?" she said and Jaune just smiled.

"Hey, Mom." Was all he said.

"Oh, Jaune! It's so good you called, Happy Birthday!" She said cheerily.

Jaune just sighed tiredly, "Thanks, Mom. But you don't have to."

"Of course I do, I carried you for nine months. I'm not gonna forget your big day." She said happily. "You're just lucky your sisters aren't here to wish you it as well. You know how they can get."

Oh he knew all right, that was one of the minor reasons why he elected to stay at Beacon for the break. "Really? Where is everyone?" he asked.

"Well, your father, Noir, Blanc and Rouge are still at work. Meanwhile, Olive, Bleu, Rose and Marron are off either with their friends or boyfriend."

"Wait, what!? Who has a boyfriend?!" Jaune practically shouted into the scroll.

"Olive. They started dating recently and they are so sweet together! Reminds me of your father and I a bit." His mother said happily.

Jaune scoffed, "It was probably a good thing I stayed at Beacon then."

He heard his mother sigh, "You're just as bad as your father." Jaune chuckled at that. "So, how are my honorary children?"

"Ren and Nora are great, Mom. Same as usual. They're getting along great with everyone."

"And what about their…situation?" She asked timidly.

"Still staying as best friends because each are too afraid to tell the other how they feel in fear of being rejected. So, yeah. The norm."

She sighed in disappointment. "I still don't understand it. Maybe they need a hand…" she said, hinting to Jaune.

"No way. I'm staying out of that. Neither one wants me involved and they have stated it on multiple occasions." Jaune sighed. "I'm having enough trouble with my own love life."

"Oh no, what happened? Did you and Amber have a disagreement?" She asked worried.

Jaune flinched at that. His whole family knew about him dating Amber but when she died, he kept it quiet. He knew how they'd react to it, especially with Gin's death so close to her's. They only knew that they were on a break for the foreseeable future. And he wanted to keep it like that, for now. "No, Mom, and I told you before, we're on a break. This is something…different."

"Well, you can talk to me, honey. How else am I supposed to help?"

Jaune took a deep breath, "Well, remember Blake?"

"The girl on Team RWBY that's quiet and reads a lot. Wears a bow and loves that book series you won't give me the name of?"

"Right. Two weeks or so ago, she got into an argument with Weiss and let a big secret slip out. She was afraid and ran away. Weiss said something that got under my skin and I also said a few things I shouldn't have, so I ran. Blake and I met up and stayed a few days in Vale to get some space. We got to know each other better because of that." Jaune said with a smile.

"Okay, so what happened?"

"Well, we were good until we got into a…situation."

"What kinda situation was that?" She asked with deadly tone to her voice.

Jaune gulped before he scratched the back of his head, "We kinda stopped a dust robbery at the docks being committed by the White Fang."

The call was quiet for a long time and Jaune was practically sweating at this point. Until his mother spoke again in a very neutral voice, "Did either of you get hurt?"

"No no no. We weren't hurt at all. Just fatigued." He said quickly.

He could hear his mother take a deep breath, "Alright. What happened afterwards?"

"We went back to Beacon and we made up with everyone. And before we were about to call it a night, Blake kissed me and told me she had feelings for me."

"Oh my OUM! My little boy has a girlfriend again! You have to bring her home!" his mother just kept going on and on.

Jaune just sighed, "No, Mom. Blake knows I'm not ready for another relationship and is alright with waiting until I am."

"I don't see what the problem is." she said confused.

"The problem is, not even a week after that, Yang told me she had feelings for me and kissed me as well!" Jaune practically shouted.

"Isn't Yang the blonde that playfully teases you? Blake's partner and Ruby's big sister?"

"Yeah…" Jaune said defeated.

She was quiet for a second, "I see the problem now."

"Yeah." Jaune said as he laid down. "I never even thought about either of them like that but now I keep noticing just how amazing the two of them are. And it's making it impossible to try and figure this out."

"Jaune, honey. Answer me this, could you see yourself with either of them?"

Jaune thought for a second before he answered, "Yes." He took a deep breath, "Blake is so stoic and her presence just puts me at ease. I can just sit next to her and do nothing for hours. Plus, we both know we can trust each other with any secret that we may have." He took another breath, "Yang is just so full of energy and spontaneous. She's funny and it's amazing to see what she will do next. And yeah, we tease each other but under all of that, she is one of the most caring and mature people I know."

"Hmmm, seems like you can't go wrong either way."

"But I can. No matter what, I'm gonna hurt one of them." He placed his arm over his eyes. "And if I don't figure this out soon, I'll just end up hurting both of them." He sighed. "When did my life become so complicated?"

He heard his mother giggle slightly, "Probably when you ran away to become a Huntsman." He groaned slightly at that. "Honey, you obviously care for both those girls deeply. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so torn up about it. So honestly ask yourself, do you think you love either of them?"

Jaune was quiet for a while, thinking about what his mother just asked him. He quickly thought about all the teasings and fights he had with Yang. Along with the times he just read with Blake and enjoyed her company in comfortable silence. He smiled at that and his chest felt warm. He couldn't deny it. "Yeah, Mom. I think I do."

He could just tell that his mother was smiling on the other end of the call, "So, why don't you give them both a shot?"

Jaune's eyes went wide, "Mom, I can't just date both of them?!"

"Why not?" she said confused. He could picture her tilting her head slightly.

He just sighed and rubbed his hand down his face. "Because I doubt either one of them would agree to that. It would be like me saying, 'Hey, I like you both and don't want to choose. So, why don't you share me?' That just makes me into a conceited prick. And you're my mother. You should be telling me to treat them right, not play with them." He said slightly annoyed.

"Jaune, you are not a 'conceited prick' as you said. You're just someone that has gone through a lot of pain and it's hard for you to listen to your heart because you are afraid of being hurt. Besides, you can't think logically with love. It's the most illogical emotion out there. And you do treat women right. Myself and Gin taught you better than that and with seven sisters there is no way you'd think of any woman with anything besides respect." She said like it was obvious.

Jaune tried to come up with a rebuttal but failed, "Sometimes it's so annoying when you're always right."

"Part of being a mom. But seriously, just give yourself some time. If those two are as understanding and truly like you, they'll understand. All you have to do is just accept your feelings once you are sure of them." She said happily. "And if you're worried on how we'll all react if you do decide to be with both of them, don't worry. Your sisters would accept anyone that stole your heart and your father would just be proud of you. And I love our big family and you would just be making it that much bigger. With the possibility of it getting a lot bigger later." She added teasingly.

Jaune just groaned, "Mom, one problem at a time." He sighed before he grinned slightly. "Alright, I'll think about it and I'll tell you what happens later."

"That's all I ask. Well, I should let you go. I love you, honey."

"I love you too. Give everyone my love?"

"Don't even have to ask. Goodbye, Jaune." She said happily.

"Bye, Mom." He ended the call and just looked out over the Emerald Forest before everything just hit him. "Did Mom just say to have multiple girlfriends?!" he face palmed, "Did things just get more or less complicated?"

* * *

The remainder of Team JNPR were sitting in their room, just relaxing. Pyrrha was tending to her weapons, Ren was meditating and working his aura and Nora was on her bed, reading a comic with her headphones on. They were soon brought out of their little worlds when they heard a knock on their door. Pyrrha got up and answered it to see RWBY at their door. "Hello there, what can we do for you?" She asked.

"Nothing much. We were going to have movie night and wanted to see if you all wanted to join us." Ruby said happily.

"That would be lovely, Ruby, but Jaune isn't back yet." She said slightly saddened.

"Well, do you know where he went?" Weiss asked.

Pyrrha just shook her head, "No, he just said he had something to do. I've sent him a few messages but he's only been responding with single word replies."

"That's weird." Yang said. "And none of you know what's going on with him?"

Pyrrha shook her head before they all turned to Nora and Ren, who were sharing a look. Nora nodded and Ren sighed, "We don't know where he went but we do know why he's gone."

"Is something wrong?" Ruby asked concerned.

"Yes and no. Today is Jaune's birthday."

Everyone was shocked by this. "Why didn't he tell us? We could've planned a party!" Ruby said in disbelief.

"Jaune really doesn't like his birthday." He shrugged. "We aren't sure why but he just never has. He only celebrated it because our Mother would throw him a party and he felt like he had to celebrate it. He did enjoy it but he always said to not make a big deal about it." He looked sad for a moment before he went back to being stoic, "He told us a while back to not say anything to you guys about it. He knew you would want to celebrate it and with everything that has happened, he really didn't want a party."

By this point, all of RWBY was in their room and was confused. "What do you mean by that?" Weiss asked.

Nora started speaking next, "Jaune never liked his birthday and that just got worse when Mom died. Especially…." Nora just stopped talking but before anyone could ask her, Ren finished her statement. "Mother Gin was killed on his birthday a year ago. Today marks the anniversary of his birth but also the anniversary of our teacher's and mother's death." He said sadly.

Everyone in the room was quiet after that. They all realized why he didn't want to celebrate. Who would after something like that? They were all so deep in thought that they didn't see Jaune walk in with a pair of headphones on. He was shocked to see everyone in his room and hung his headphones around his neck, "Hey, guys. What's the occasion?" Everyone turned to him and Ruby used her Semblance to run into him. She jumped onto his chest and wrapped her arms and legs around him in a hug. She was burying her face into his chest. Jaune had to use all his strength to not fall over before he looked down at Ruby confused. "Um, Ruby, I don't mind the hug but what's wrong?" She didn't say a thing and he looked up to see Yang, Blake and Pyrrha come over to hug him as well. He looked at the others in the room in growing confusion. Weiss looked like she wanted to join in the hug but was conflicted, Nora had a sheepish look on her face and Ren had his usual stoic expression. Something clicked in his head and he sighed. "You two told them, right?"

Ren nodded, "They were concerned and we thought that you wouldn't mind."

Jaune nodded, "No harm. I was going to tell them when I came back anyways." He looked at the four girls hugging him. "Girls, I do love hugs but it's kinda hard to breath." He said jokingly before they let him go begrudgingly, except Ruby. He just looked down at her and shrugged. He walked over to his bed before he started to tickle her mercilessly, she started laughing and eventually fell onto his bed. He grinned down at her before he put his headphones on his desk. He turned to see them all looking at him. "Guys, I'm fine. I just wanted to just process today. I called home and just listened to some music while thinking about some memories of her. Nothing crazy, just wanted to be alone." He smiled at them.

They slowly looked at each other. Before Blake spoke up, "You sure, Jaune?"

He nodded, "Yeah. So, what are you all doing in our room?"

"Oh, right! We were going to invite you all for movie night!" Ruby said happily.

"Sweet! I'll get the popcorn!" He said happily. Everyone smiled and decided to go on with their plans. Jaune enjoyed his time with his friends, they laughed, they cried and just enjoyed their time together. Jaune thought about a lot and as the night started to come to a close, all he could think is that today was a better birthday than he expected.


	28. Semblance of Change

It was Thursday of the first week of the break for Beacon students, Jaune was getting extremely stir crazy. He chalked it up to doing nothing physical the last two days. After the extreme workout from Nora and Yang, he decided it would be in his best interest to relax. He elected to work on his Semblance for a bit. He grabbed his scroll and sent a message to Weiss.

Jaune: Hey Snow Angel! You busy right now?

After a minute or so he got a response from her.

Weiss: I'm going over some notes. Why?

Jaune: I'm just bored. I was thinking of working on my Semblance, if you don't mind accompanying me that is.

Weiss almost instantly responded.

Weiss: I don't really have a choice. Otherwise you may do something stupid. Where are you?

At this point, Jaune was out of his room and leaning on his door. He smiled before sending his next message.

Jaune: I'm outside the dorms.

He could hear a raucous coming from the room before he received a message.

Weiss: I'll be their soon.

Next thing he knew; the door swung open before Weiss rushed out the door. She got halfway down the hall before Jaune whistled. She stopped and turned in shock to see him standing in front of her door. He waved and with a smirk said, "You in a hurry?" She blushed as he walked up next to her and stopped. "I didn't know you cared so much, Snow Angel."

She blushed more before she glared at him, "Shut it."

Jaune just smiled, "The glare really doesn't work when you blush. It just makes you look adorable." He said with a smile. She blushed even further before she started walking down the hallway at a brisk pace. Jaune chuckled before he caught up to her. The two walked in silence to the locker room. Jaune pulled out his blades and checked the dust levels on all his swords. They were all a bit low and he took out a few vials of dust from his locker to fill them. He sighed while doing this. "This is by far the most tedious part of my design."

Weiss was watching him as he worked, "Why did you design them like that, then? I mean, I go through the same thing with Myrtenaster so I understand a bit on how tedious it actually is."

Jaune just chuckled, "Actually, I had an idea to create dust clips for my swords. You know like how some guns have clips for bullets? I thought it would be good to have clips of dust to just reload when I needed to and it would help when I ran out in the field." He sighed. "But that idea just isn't possible right now."

"Why not? It doesn't seem like a bad idea or one too complicated to do." She asked.

"Oh it wouldn't. I have the blueprints for them right here." He pulled out his scroll for a second before returning back to his pocket. "It's just that I can't do it right now, wouldn't be right."

Weiss was confused. "What do you mean, Jaune?"

Jaune sighed, "Ever wonder how Nora, Ren and I pay for everything?"

Weiss didn't know where this was going but continued with it anyways, "I actually never really thought about it. I guess your family."

"You're half right. When Mother died, she left everything to the three of us. The property she owned, the house that we lived in together and all the money she saved away from missions." He gave a sad chuckle, "Apparently, she set her will up way before her death. Guess she knew something may happen to her." He sighed, "Anyways, we have enough to keep us comfortable until we graduate and a good amount of time afterwards, but if I were to take the money necessary to upgrade my swords, we wouldn't be in as good of a spot." He looked back down to refilling his swords.

Weiss nodded before continuing, "Could you ask your family for money?"

Jaune rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I probably could but I won't. After all the worry I put them through while I was away training and not really talking much to them during that time." He sighed. "It just wouldn't feel right. I want to prove to them that I'm not the same kid I was when I ran away. I want to do it on my own."

Weiss just absorbed all of this. She was never in a spot like the one he was in. As much as she disagreed with her father, she had money to do whatever she wanted. Not to say she used it for anything too out there, she preferred to not feel like she owed her father anything. But just seeing Jaune being responsible for his friends and siblings was like a breath of fresh air. She was always around selfish and self-centered people growing up. But Jaune was the complete opposite to all of those people. It made her happy to be friends with someone like this. Especially seeing how driven he was to prove he wasn't what people thought he was, it made her feel like they had a kinship.

She was brought out of her train of thought as Jaune waved his hand in front of her face. She blinked a few times before she looked up at him, "Sorry, Jaune, I was distracted. Did you say something?"

He just smiled, "I was asking if you mind bringing Myrtenaster with us? I have an idea for training my Semblance."

She didn't ask, knowing he'd only tell her when he wanted to. She grabbed her rapier from her locker and the two made their way over to the edge of the forest where they usually went. Jaune than turned to Weiss, "Okay. I was wondering if you'd mind helping me train the five basic elements of my Semblance?"

Weiss was confused for a second, "You don't want to work more on Particle?"

Jaune shook his head, "I've done everything I can to try to master it at this point. The only thing left is for some actual battle experience. But with Particle, it's too dangerous to use for any training bouts or spars, so I'm gonna shelf it for the time being. Instead, I'd rather work on the basics for my Semblance. Haven't done that in a while and I'd rather not neglect them."

She nodded, "What do you have in mind?" Jaune explained that he was planning to use each of the five basic elements and he wanted Weiss to use her glyphs to help with his exercises. She agreed as long as she got to set the parameters for the training. He agreed and the training began. Jaune set his swords and scroll to the side so they wouldn't get damaged.

They first started with water. Weiss would summon many smaller Glyphs around Jaune and use them to fire ice shards at him. He'd have to use his advanced reflexes to dodge all of them. They would go for a full ten minutes, if Jaune got hit once, they'd have to reset the clock. Weiss would not set any kind pattern to her attacks, she'd chose random Glyphs at random times and she would increase the speed and frequency of the attacks the longer they went for. Jaune did very well at this but when the speed was almost at max and several shards were flying, he'd get hit. He'd heal almost instantly but he would get annoyed with himself. By the end, Weiss was impressed by Jaune's improvement levels. She was curious what he'd do with something else. So, with the last twenty seconds of the ten minutes, she had all her Glyphs fire shards simultaneously. Jaune accepted the challenge, he grabbed two shards and used them to deflect any shards he couldn't dodge. With that, the water exercise was done.

They moved onto lightning next. The exercise was a simple race. Weiss would use one of her Time Dilation Glyphs to send herself towards a tree a hundred meters away. Jaune was tasked with using his higher speed to reach the tree before her. They both got into their ready positions and the race would begin when her Glyph disappeared. The first race ended with Weiss beating Jaune by a half a second. The sequential races ended the same way. Weiss wasn't as fast as Ruby using her Semblance but that just proved how slow Jaune was moving. The last race he did something a bit different, he kept the electricity moving in his body while he was waiting for the race to begin. That way his energy would still be in motion and would take less time for it to reach where he wanted it to be. The result was Jaune getting there a half a second before Weiss and to annoy her, he caught her in his arms. She blushed profusely and tried to push him away. He just chuckled before complying.

Afterwards, the two decided on how to work on wind. Weiss created a dozen or so Glyphs in the air as platforms. He'd have to jump on to all of them within three minutes. But with each Glyph he stood on, it would disappear when he jumped off of it. So, he'd have to figure out the best path quickly. Especially because Weiss would change their orientation every time he failed. Luckily, due to Jaune's increased stamina he could go with this exercise much longer than the rest of the exercises. They went for about half an hour before they both needed a break. Once they were rested, they went at it again. Jaune soon figured out how to do the platforms and figured out the pattern; either by luck or keen eyes. He also used the nearby trees to better angle himself to complete the course and Weiss gave him additional points for creativity.

That's when they went onto earth. Weiss would place a Gravity Glyph directly above him, while Jaune was in a meditative position. His task was to use his arms or hands to stop a series of rocks from hitting him. She had twenty-five rocks but for each one that hit him, she would add a minute onto the time he had to stay under the increased gravity. Jaune did fairly well but a few rocks did get past him due to his already slowed state being increased by the gravity. He had to stay another ten minutes under the Glyph and she was still throwing rocks at him. But the more it went on the less rocks hit him and eventually his time under the Glyph was done. He was kinda sore afterwards but he decided to just deal with it.

Finally, all they had left was fire. For this element Weiss decided to keep it simple. She would create a Glyph as a shield, all he'd have to do is break the Glyph within the time of a minute. Jaune thought this would be simple but decided to go along with it anyways. He failed to realize that Weiss was focusing a lot more on this Glyph, so it'd be twice as hard to break through it. This was her payback for him teasing her earlier. After several failed attempts, Jaune was doubled over breathing heavily. His fire enhanced aura was killing his stamina; he couldn't keep this up but he refused to give in.

Weiss was thinking that he had enough and was about to call it when Jaune stood tall and closed his eyes. He focused all of his aura into his right fist and it looked like his fist was pure fire. He opened his eyes and with a cry of exertion punched the Glyph with the last of his strength and aura. The Glyph shattered and Jaune grinned in triumph before he passed out from exhaustion. Weiss ran to him immediately, fearing she pushed him too far.

Jaune woke up about twenty minutes later. He noticed that he was laying on Weiss' lap as she was sat against the tree. She looked relieved that he was awake. "Jaune! Oh thank Oum, I thought I pushed you too far. I was worried."

Jaune just shook his head, "No, I'm fine Weiss. But, um, why am I am using your lap as a pillow?"

She was slightly embarrassed and her cheeks turned pink, "I didn't know what to do. So I thought I should let you sleep it off and I thought the ground would be too hard."

Jaune just looked at her and smiled, "Thank you, Weiss, that was nice of you and I'm sorry I worried you. I kinda guessed I would pass out after that maneuver I pulled." He chuckled weakly.

She just looked at him mildly annoyed, "Why didn't you tell me that you were going to try something reckless? Why try it at all?"

Jaune just looked up at the sky above him and saw the sun shining through the leaves of the tree above them. "Somethings are just worth the risk." He reached his hand up to the sun to protect his eyes from the light. "If I don't push myself to the brink, I won't improve as much as I need to. I need to be able to protect you all if the time comes." His eyes took on a serious look and he clenched his fist that was in the air. "I will protect the people I care about. I refuse to fail ever again."

Weiss just looked down at him and just saw how determined he was. It was baffling to her to see both of these sides to this one man. The side that was fun loving and made everyone smile, along with this serious side that would do anything to achieve his goals. She was in awe. "How, Jaune?"

He just looked at her confused, "How what, Weiss?"

"How are you so strong? You've gone through so much but you still keep going. It's like the world could turn against you but as long as you have the people you care for, you wouldn't care. People judge me because of my father and our company, and it just hurts so much. So, I've had to hide all that pain under this cold exterior." She closed her eyes to stop the tears she could feel forming. She was stronger than that. "But, it still hurts so much." She stopped when she felt him sit up and wrap his arms around her.

"It's okay, Weiss. You don't have to be strong all the time. I know how hard it is to try. So, for this one time, you can let it out. I won't judge you and I will keep it a secret if you wish." Her resolve melted away at that, she just started to cry. All the pain she felt over the years just came to the surface as her icy exterior was being thawed. Jaune just sat there holding her close and let her cry. He gently stroked her hair as she did. They sat there for a few minutes and eventually she stopped. He looked down at her. "Are you okay?"

She nodded slightly but didn't look up. "Thank you, Jaune. I can't remember the last time I could just let go." She still didn't look up at him.

"No problem. I'm here for you, Weiss, as long as you let me do so. And to answer your question, I'm strong because I can't afford to be weak." She looked up at him and she still had a few tears falling. "You all look to me in some way or another. I need to be strong enough to live up to those standards and if the time ever comes that I need to be there for the ones I care for, to not let them down." He smiled slightly and gently wiped away her remaining tears. "That includes you, Snow Angel."

She blushed slightly but smiled, "I told you before Jaune. I trust you and believe you. You won't let any of us down." He smiled brightly and she looked down before she continued, "And Jaune, if you ever need to let go and not be strong for a bit." She looked back up at him. "You can come to me. Anytime."

He nodded, "You got it, Snow Angel." They sat there for a bit longer before he let her go. She instantly wished for him to hold her again but she quickly shook her head to dismiss those thoughts. She saw he was offering his hand to her and she accepted it. They collected their weapons but Jaune was looking for something. "Hey, Weiss, do you know where my scroll is?"

She held it out to him, "Sorry, I checked it to see how your aura levels were." She looked away for a second. "I also looked at those blueprints for those dust clips. I was curious."

Jaune took his scroll back, "No problem. Well, let's head back." She nodded and they made their way back to the dorms. Weiss was smiling the whole way, not just because she felt a great weight lifted off her shoulders. But because she had a surprise for Jaune in the near future.


	29. Firsts

It was Friday of the first week of the break for the students of Beacon and Team RWBY was sitting around their dorm doing the usual. Yang was on her bunk on her scroll, either messaging people or just browsing the web. Blake was on her bunk reading a book, not Ninjas of Love though. That was her book with Jaune and she didn't want to read it without him. Weiss was at her desk, going over her old notes and preparing for the new semester. Ruby was on her bed and was just staring up at the ceiling. She was on her scroll, looking for the answers she desperately needed in her life but with minimal results. She was so frustrated and she was about to leave to get some air when there was a knock on the door. Ruby jumped off her bed and went to the door, she opened it to find Jaune standing there, "Hey, Rosebud." Was all he said with a smile.

Ruby just smiled back at him, "Hey, Jaune. What brings you here?"

Jaune was scratching the back of his head, "Well, the rest of my team went down to Vale and left me here. I was getting a bit lonely and was wondering if you'd mind if I hung out with you girls for a bit?" He asked sheepishly.

Ruby just smiled more, "Of course, Jaune!" She said happily as she moved to the side for him to enter, "You're always welcome!"

Jaune walked inside, "Thank you, Rosebud." When he was inside, he saw the other three members of RWBY looking at him and smiling, "Hey Snow Angel, Sun Fire, Kitten." He nodded to each one of them as he said their nicknames. The girls either waved or said hello in return. Jaune heard the door close behind him and Ruby was walking past him.

"So, what did the others have to do in Vale?" she asked curiously.

"Well, Pyrrha had to meet with her manager to talk about business. Meanwhile, Ren and Nora," he shrugged before continuing, "No idea. Nora apparently dragged Ren down to Vale and he couldn't stop her. I only found out after Ren messaged me."

Yang decided to ask a question, "So, why didn't you decide to help him out?"

He chuckled a bit, "As much as my motion sickness is decreasing with each ride to and from Vale, I don't wanna endure that torture for now. Besides, I love those two but they need some alone time. Maybe they'll finally get together."

Blake looked up from her book, "How long have they been like that?"

"When Ren became tall, dark and handsome, Nora's words. And when Nora became radiant and more precious than air itself, Ren's words."

Blake and Yang giggled at that. "You know; you don't have to stand there, Jaune." Weiss decided to join into the conversation. "You could sit on my bed, if you like." She said this without looking at him so he wouldn't see the faint pink in her cheeks.

Jaune looked at Weiss' bed then Ruby's hanging above it before he answered, "I appreciate it, Weiss, but I don't wanna die."

He got the reaction he was hoping for. Ruby glared at him with her arms crossed, "Will you leave our beds alone!" she practically shouted at him.

"I am. That's why I'm staying away from them." He said completely serious and Ruby just got more annoyed, she started puffing out her cheeks. Jaune just laughed at his best friend as he ruffled her hair and she was trying to swat his hand away with little effect. Jaune decided to start tickling her and she quickly fell to the ground but he didn't stop. Ruby tried to stop Jaune but that had little results, "Say Uncle, Ruby! Say Uncle!"

Through her laughing fit she was able to shout out defiantly, "Never!" She eventually couldn't find a way to stop him so she resorted to what she used to do to Yang when she did something like this. She promptly bit Jaune playfully on his shoulder. Jaune wasn't expecting this and he wasn't currently wearing his hoodie so he felt it more than he usually would. He quickly jumped away from her and shouted in shock, "Ouch! Ruby, why'd you bite me!?" She looked mildly embarrassed and jumped onto her bed to hide. Jaune was rubbing his shoulder reflexively, his aura took all of the pain but it still surprised him.

"That reminds me, where's your hoodie, Jaune?" Blake asked.

"It's in the wash. I usually wash it every two weeks or so." He responded.

"Wow. That thing must stink then." Yang said jokingly.

Jaune just glared at her before he just shrugged and went to one of the desks to get a chair, "I don't think so. Besides, Blake never really complained about it." Blake blushed slightly at that and Yang hung upside down from her bed to try and tease her. The two started to discuss something but by this point Jaune was just looking at the two of them and not really listening.

Now that he knew how he felt about them; he couldn't help but just look at them lovingly. 'They are both so amazing. I really need to figure this out. It's not fair to them to not give them an answer. But I don't wanna hurt either of them.' As he thought this, his mind went back to the conversation he had with his mother. He quickly shook his head to dismiss those thoughts. He decided that since the four of them were doing their own thing, he shouldn't disturb them. 'I could work on my aura; it's been a while.' He sat himself down in the chair cross legged and got in his meditative position. He closed his eyes and concentrated his aura to the center of his chest. He took a deep breath and as he exhaled, he spread his aura to every inch of his body and when he inhaled, he pulled it back to his center. He did this a few times and he could feel his aura very clearly, it made him feel at peace.

"Jaune, what are you doing?" he heard Ruby ask.

Jaune just opened his eyes to see her standing directly in front of him, staring intently at him, "Nothing much, Ruby. Just working with my aura." She tilted her head to the side in confusion and he saw it as nothing but adorable. "It's a technique that Ren and I were taught. It let's someone become more in tune with their aura. It helps those who either use aura heavily in combat or their Semblance, like Ren and I."

"Wow. I use my Speed a lot while using Crescent Rose. Could you teach me?" She asked.

Jaune just nodded, "Sure. But let's sit on the ground. This chair isn't really comfortable for this." He stood up and sat between the bunk beds and Ruby sat across from him, trying to imitate his meditative position. "Hmmm, hold on a second." He stood up and walked behind. He placed his hand on the middle of her back and gently applied pressure, "Straighten your back just a little." He said this and Ruby did. She than felt both his hands on her shoulders and she blushed slightly, "Relax your shoulders a bit, please, Ruby." She did as she was told. Soon Jaune came back around and sat across from her again. "Okay, now close your eyes and take a few deep breaths as a start." Ruby nodded and closed her eyes. She took a few breaths and felt relax. "Now, start to flare your aura just a bit." She did this and Jaune could see her red aura surrounding her.

"Okay. Now this part can be a bit difficult. You need to try concentrate your aura into the center of your chest. Right about here." He reached over to gently placed his index and middle fingers just above her breasts.

Ruby started to blush but quickly got control of her thoughts, 'Calm down. Jaune isn't doing anything perverted, he isn't like that. He's just helping me learn this technique.' She started to focus where Jaune had his fingers and she could feel her aura slowly start to travel there. After about a minute or so, her aura was where it was supposed to be.

Jaune took his fingers and started to speak again, "Good. Now take a deep breath." She did. "Slowly exhale and as you do, slowly spread your aura out across every inch of your body." Jaune watched as she exhaled and her aura slowly surrounded her body again. "Breathe again, as you inhale pull your aura back to your center." He watched her breath in and her aura slowly retreated. "Alright, do this a few more times." He just watched as she continued the steps over and over. He noticed that she was a bit too eager though. Her aura would fully spread-out through her body before she was done exhaling. It was also condensing before she was done inhaling.

Ruby exhaled one last time before she opened her eyes. She seemed happy. "How'd I do?" she asked.

"You did very well, Ruby, I'm actually very impressed." She beamed at him at that. "But, you're not exactly there yet."

She looked a bit disappointed. "What I do wrong?"

"Nothing, Ruby." Jaune said sincerely. "Your aura is just fully spreading out before you're done exhaling and is condensing before your done inhaling. They should be in sync for you to get the full benefits of this technique." She looked very sad at that, so Jaune gently patted her head. "Rosebud, you're doing great. It takes some time before anyone can fully do it. I'm surprised on how well you did for a first go." He smiled at her.

She smiled back at him, "Thank you, Jaune." She sighed afterwards, "Just wish I could feel how it should be."

Jaune took his hand away and nervously rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, there is a way for me to show you but it can be a bit…intense."

Ruby just stared at him until she leant forward, "Please, Jaune."

He sighed before he nodded, "Alright." He held out both his hands to her. "Place your hands on mine." She looked at his hands slightly confused. But did so. "Alright, now we both have to flare our auras." They both did so; Ruby's red, Jaune's white and where their hands met was a slight pink. "Now focus your aura back to your center." Jaune focused his and Ruby did the same a second later. Jaune closed his eyes and Ruby did the same. "On the count of 3, we'll send our aura back out. 1, 2, 3." They both sent their aura's out and as their aura reached their hands they both gasped, Ruby more than Jaune.

Ruby could feel Jaune's aura almost as clearly as her own. She could feel it more now because her eyes were closed. "Sorry, shoulda warned you about that. Now on three, we'll pull our auras back to our centers." Jaune counted down and the two of them repeated this process a few times. The more that this went on though, the more flustered Ruby was becoming. Their aura's were just barely separated from each other and this was the closest she had ever had her aura to anyone else's, since it was unlocked. Since aura was the extension of one's soul, in a way it was like their souls were touching. That thought was very intimate to her. 'Guess this is what he meant when he said it was intense.'

"Ruby? Are you okay? You seem flustered." Ruby was brought out of her thoughts when Jaune spoke to her. She opened her eyes and looked at Jaune with a half-lidded expression. Jaune was worried, Ruby seemed completely out of it and he was blaming himself. He was trying to figure out what to do, when he was pulled into a headlock from behind.

"Hey, Jaune. Mind telling me what you did to my baby sister?" Yang said with a noticeable edge to her voice. Jaune was trying to respond but Yang was cutting off his oxygen. He couldn't even form words and he was trying to tell her so by tapping her on the arm repeatedly. He was about to pass out when he heard someone tackle her and freeing him from her hold. Jaune was quickly trying to reclaim his breath and looked to see who rescued him. Turns out, Ruby used her Semblance to tackle Yang and the two were now wrestling on the floor.

Jaune coughed before he spoke to the other two in the room, "They do this often?" Blake and Weiss just sighed while nodding. He just shook his head and chuckled a bit.

"So, what did you do to Ruby?" Blake asked him while looking over her book.

He sighed, "Nothing. I was trying to let her feel what it's like when the technique is done properly by letting her aura synchronize with my own. But because of our auras being in such a close proximity, most people view it as being a very intimate process." He looked down at Ruby and Yang, who at this point had stopped wrestling and were just looking up at him. "It's the main reason why I didn't wanna do it because it can be overwhelming. It must have been a bit much for you, Ruby, and I'm sorry for not warning you more beforehand."

Ruby quickly got away from Yang and stood in front of Jaune. "No, it's alright, Jaune. You didn't do anything wrong." She looked away slightly, "It was just a little unexpected."

"So, mind teaching the rest of us this aura technique thing, Hero?" Yang asked as she stood up from the ground.

"Not at all. Just no more headlocks, Yang." Jaune said sternly to her. Jaune than started to teach the other girls of RWBY the technique with varying results. Weiss was having the complete opposite problem to Ruby, she was too reserved. She would be done exhaling before her aura would fully spread out and she would be done inhaling before her aura would completely focus back to her center. Blake was the closest of the team to have it complete, her aura was only off slightly from her breathing but she would sync them on occasions. Ruby was still practicing, she was still a bit too eager and needed to slow down a bit but was getting closer. Yang had virtually no progress at all. But, trying to get Yang to sit still and focus was a bit of a stretch. Eventually she gave up and started looking through her scroll again. That was until she got everyone's attention.

"Hey, Ruby?" Ruby and everyone else turned to Yang. She was staring at her scroll with a confused look. "Why have you been looking up information on having a crush and what to do about it?" Yang asked pointing at the scroll, which everyone now knew to be Ruby's.

Ruby's eyes went wide and she quickly ran over to Yang to get her scroll. But Yang was keeping it just out of her grasp. "Yang! Give me back my scroll!" She shouted in anger.

"Not until you tell me who you're crushing on." Yang said determinedly. She now had it over her head to stop Ruby from grabbing it.

Ruby quickly jumped onto her sister's back to try and reach it. "That's not your business! Now give it!" Ruby replied angrily.

Yang quickly held it out at arm's length to stop her. "Not til you tell me." She said getting slightly annoyed.

Jaune sighed and stood up, "Come on you two, knock it off." Jaune said trying to defuse the situation.

"Jaune, go long!" Yang shouted before she threw the scroll at him. Jaune caught it so it wouldn't fall to the ground and break. Next thing he knew, he got knocked to the ground and the back of his head hit the ground. His head was spinning slightly but soon felt something on his lips. He openned his eyes to see Ruby on top of him and the two were kissing.

Ruby's eyes were wide and she quickly pulled back. She sat up on top of him and was just in shock. "I…I'm…. I'm…" she was saying over and over before her eyes started to water. She quickly grabbed her scroll and used her Semblance to get out of the room.

Jaune quickly stood up, "Ruby, wait!" He looked around the room to see the other three staring wide eyed at Jaune. "I know you didn't mean to, Yang, but you took that too far."

Yang looked down slightly, "I know. But I didn't think she'd go that overboard to some teasing." She sighed. "But, this is probably the first time she's ever had a crush so I shouldn't be surprised."

"I'll go check on her." Jaune said. He left the dorm and used his scroll to find Ruby's GPS. He eventually found her sitting on the fountain in the courtyard. She had her knees drawn up to her chest and had her head down. He sat down next to her but she didn't show any indication that he was there. "Ruby, are you okay?"

Ruby just shook her head with it still down. "I'm so embarrassed. Why would Yang do that?" She said sadly.

"She was just teasing, Ruby. She just didn't realize that you'd actually get hurt over it." Jaune said.

"Still, just because she sucks at the aura technique doesn't mean she had to ruin it for everyone." She said heatedly.

"Ruby, are you embarrassed by what Yang did or the fact that we kissed each other accidentally in front of your team?" Jaune asked.

Ruby was quiet for a bit. "Both. But the kiss was definitely more embarrassing." She said bashfully.

Jaune gently patted her head and she finally looked over at him. "I'm sorry, Ruby. Both me and Yang are. Do you think you can forgive us?"

She looked out across the courtyard before she spoke again. "Maybe. But I want a batch of your cookies. With double the chocolate." She looked at him with a small smile.

Jaune chuckled, "You got it. And Yang?"

"I'll find a way to get even." She said with a slightly evil smile. The two laughed before Jaune stood up and offered his hand to her. She accepted it and he helped her off the fountain. The two then made their way back to the dorms.

"Um, Ruby? Would you mind answering something?" Jaune asked nervously.

"Sure. What's up?"

"Was that your first kiss?" he asked. She blushed and looked down before nodding. Jaune groaned, "Oh man, now I feel worse. I'm so sorry, Ruby. I wish I could make it up to you."

Ruby stopped walking and Jaune stopped to look at her. She still had her head down and she was messing with the end of her skirt. "I might have an idea." She said very nervously.

"What is it?" Jaune asked curious.

"Well, um, could we…. could we…" She said bashfully before she took a deep breath. She looked up and made eye contact with him. "Could we redo it?" She asked while blushing as red as her cloak.

Jaune was shocked by this, "You wanna redo it?" She nodded at him without breaking eye contact. Jaune started to scratch the back of his head nervously, "I guess so but are you sure, Ruby?"

She nodded before she replied slightly nervous, "Yes. You've been so great to me, Jaune, so I don't mind you having my first kiss."

Jaune just looked at his best friend and made his decision, "Okay, if this is what you want." She nodded and he slowly walked over to her. When there was very little space between them he gently placed one of his hands on her shoulder. He could feel her shaking slightly from being nervous. He gently placed his other hand on her cheek and she looked up at him. She looked into his eyes and he just raised an eyebrow, asking her if she was ready. Ruby took a deep breath and leant into his hand before she nodded. Jaune gently raised her head a bit and gently kissed her. Ruby's eyes went wide before she closed them and leant into the kiss. She couldn't believe how amazing the kiss felt and quickly thought she might get addicted.

After a few seconds, they broke the kiss and Jaune just looked at Ruby. "Was that better?" he asked her. Ruby just nodded and hugged him tightly. Jaune hugged her back and after a minute or so, they made their way back to the dorms. He had some cookies to bake and Ruby had the most content smile on her face. There was also an unspoken pact between the two. Do not tell Yang.


	30. Realization

It was now Saturday and Jaune found himself in the complete opposite situation than the day before. He was now hanging out with his team while all of RWBY had to go to Vale for some reason. He didn't bother to ask them because he had a feeling they wouldn't tell him anyways and it was none of his business to begin with.

Team JNPR were outside just enjoying their day together. Nora was talking a mile a minute while the other three just listened to her. Jaune realized though that Pyrrha was looking over at him a lot during this time but every time he looked at her she would blush before looking away. He was wondering what was going on but he realized that something was off. They usually sat next to each other, being partners and all, but today they were closer than usual. Barely a few inches were separating them and Jaune looked down and he saw that he had his hand on top of her's, how did that happen?

His first instinct was to take his hand away but he didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to it. Besides, he really didn't mind. Pyrrha's hand was warm and incredibly comforting. She always had a way to make Jaune just feel comfortable and safe. Made sense, she is an amazing fighter and a champion. But, he knew she was so much more than that. Having not known anything about her before initiation made it so he could get to know Pyrrha Nikos the person, not the champion.

"Jaune?" he was brought out of his thoughts by Pyrrha talking. He shook his head slightly before he looked back at her and he noticed she had a slight blush.

"Sorry, Pyr. I was deep in thought. What's up?"

She looked away bashfully, "You've been staring at me for a while now and, well, there's that." She said as she looked down at their hands together. He blushed slightly and looked up to apologize for it but stopped. He looked into her emerald eyes and saw something in them, some emotion. Something he's seen before but never really gave much thought to. He just kept looking at her and just took in her beauty. She was breath taking and he couldn't look away.

She just looked at him and didn't know what to do, she's seen that look before from many people but not from Jaune. But it was different, purer. He wasn't looking at her like many people in their age group, full of hormones and indecency. But just admiration. He'd never looked at her like this before and it made her chest feel warm. Neither knew what would happen next, but luckily or unluckily, they didn't have the chance to figure it out.

"So, you guys gonna kiss or what?" Nora said teasingly.

The two blushed before they looked away. "Nora!" Jaune said annoyed, whether it was from Nora's teasings or her interrupting their moment was anyone's guess.

"What? I was talking to you guys and you were ignoring me. It was either that or I was gonna hit you with Magnhild." She said cheerfully.

Jaune just sighed, "What were you trying to say to us?"

"I was wondering if we could go sparring? I'm kinda bored and wanna do something exciting."

Jaune thought for a second, "Sure. Why not?" Nora jumped up and started cheering. This just made Jaune smile before he stood up and offered his hand to his partner. She took it and they all made their way to the sparring rooms. They decided to spar with their partners to start off. They set up the matches so that they would end when either person's aura would reach fifty percent. That way they wouldn't be too exhausted. Jaune and Pyrrha had a slightly heated match, Jaune made good on his promise and didn't use his Semblance for this match. This allowed him to use all of his full capabilities with a sword against her. Although, Pyrrha wasn't going to make it easy on him. Halfway through their match she started to use her Semblance. Jaune jumped back to create some distance and looked at her with an eyebrow raised, "Really?"

She gave him a small smile, "You never said I couldn't use my Semblance. Besides, this will make it more of a challenge for you."

Jaune just sighed, "Fine. I'm not one to back away from a challenge!" he said with a grin before charging at his partner. The match was getting exciting, Pyrrha had the advantage for a while but Jaune was still able to score a few decisive hits on her when he'd grab another sword before she realized it and could effect it with her Polarity. But eventually Jaune's aura reached the fifty percent mark and the match went to Pyrrha. Jaune was doubled over breathing raggedly, "Well, I have to say, I got you a few times there even with you using your Semblance." He smiled at her and she returned it.

"You did very well, Jaune. I was shocked by the hits you managed to get me with. Not many people can say that." She said cheerfully.

"Yeah. Most people see you as untouchable." They were standing close to each other and he gently took her hand, "So, are you untouchable or just not to me?" She blushed slightly and Jaune did as well when he realized how what he said had sounded like.

They were both brought out of that when they heard someone clapping. They turned to see a guy about their age walking towards them. He was pretty muscular and tall, Jaune was still taller by a couple of inches. He wore a blue and black, sleeveless gi from the waist up and black pants from the waist down. He wore boots and bracers around both his forearms and similar guards around his shins. He was tanned with black, spiky hair and red eyes. He stopped a few feet away and spoke, "I have to say, that was an impressive fight. But, what do you expect from the great Pyrrha Nikos?" He said with a smile.

Jaune did not like the way he was looking at Pyrrha, at all. Pyrrha seemed the same but soon put on her usual mask. "Thank you but I had my difficulties. Jaune is a tough opponent." Jaune smiled at her compliment.

"Maybe so but when it comes to you, victory is always guaranteed."

Something was off about this guy so Jaune stepped forward slightly. "Not to be rude but who are you?"

He looked at Jaune for a second before his eyes returned to Pyrrha, "My apologies." He made a bow before he spoke again, "My name is Kuro, I'm here from Haven academy for the Vytal festival. And your eventual boyfriend." He raised his head with a smile.

Both of them were taken back by that. "Excuse me?" Pyrrha said stunned.

"Similar to you, I have never lost a fight. Some have started to call me the God of Victory and a God needs his Goddess." He started to walk towards her. "We are perfect for each other, Pyrrha. No one will ever understand us, the solitary we share. We'll only be happy with each other. And with our skills and powers, we will be unstoppable. So, what do you say, beloved?" He was reaching out to her but was stopped when Jaune grabbed his arm and pushed him back.

He quickly stepped in front of Pyrrha, "I think you've over stayed your welcome." He said with an unmistakable edge to his voice. Everything this guy said angered Jaune. He was talking to Pyrrha like she was an item or prize, he didn't even care about her opinion and that was not okay with him, at all.

Kuro just looked Jaune up and down, "I suggest you move. I have matters to discuss things with my beloved."

"She doesn't want anything to do with you. So, I suggest you leave." His aura started to flare slightly. "Unless you wanna lose that victory streak of yours."

Kuro started to chuckle slightly, "You're no match for me. What makes you think you can win?"

"I've dealt with worse than you. So, either stay in this ring and fight or walk away."

Kuro just smiled, "Fine. I'll just prove my skills to my beloved. But I don't have my weapons on me, so you have the advantage."

Jaune took his sheathes off his back and handed them to Pyrrha. She used her Polarity to help with their weight. "Take care of these for me, Pyrrha?"

"Jaune, you don't have to do this." She tried to convince him.

"No, I do. You're my partner and friend. He has no right to talk to you like he owns you." Jaune cracked his knuckles. "Let me do this for you, Pyrrha. For everything you've done for me up til now." She looked at him and nodded. She made her way out of the ring and the match was started.

The two got into their starting positions. Just from looking at his opponent's stance, he could tell he was trained in martial arts. This was gonna be a tough fight. "Come on, don't keep me waiting. I'll even give you the first move, it's the least a God can do." He gave Jaune a grin. Without a word, Jaune shot off with his aura to punch him in his stomach. Right as he was about to make contact, Kuro grabbed his arm and delivered a kick to his ribs. Jaune slid back and when he stopped jumped into the air with the use of his aura to go for an axe kick. Again, right before impact, he stepped to the side and delivered a punch to Jaune's stomach. This sent Jaune back but he flipped to land on his feet, he groaned in frustration before he charged at Kuro. He went for a right cross but faked it out to spin and connect his heel to his temple. But Kuro managed to catch his ankle before impact and spun with Jaune before letting go to send him flying. Jaune hit the ground and slid across the ring before he stopped. He looked to see Kuro bow to him, "That's the extent you can do to the likes of a God."

Jaune groaned in frustration as he was getting back to his feet, "Oum, you're a fucking tool." He took a second to regain his breath and something came to his mind. 'Were his eyes glowing a second ago?' he made a decision and ran at Kuro again. He faked another punch before he slid past him. When he was directly behind him. He used his aura to shoot off the ground for an elbow strike. Kuro spun around and dodged but not as fluently as before. As that was happening, Jaune spun his body and tried to connect with his other fist. Again, Kuro caught it and kicked Jaune away. But Jaune, saw it this time, his eyes were definitely glowing red.

Jaune landed and just looked at him, "So, that's how you do it." Kuro tilted his head slightly and Jaune continued, "Every time you dodged or intercepted my attacks, your eyes were glowing red. And when you couldn't see me, your movements weren't as fluid. So, let me guess, that's your Semblance."

Kuro's eyes widened before he started to clap again, "Very good. You found out my ability so quickly. As a reward, I'll tell you. My Semblance allows my eyesight to increase to exceptional levels. Because of that I can see the muscles of my opponents loosen or contract and that allows me to predict their next movement. And in some cases, if I use more aura, my perception of time changes. So, at that point my opponent is practically going in slow motion. But I haven't had to use that against you." He than just stares into Jaune's eyes, "So, you can see you have no chance of beating me." He then looks over to Pyrrha, who has been watching the whole fight worried. "So, give up and I'll be able to see my beloved."

"Oh shut up!" Jaune screamed. "Pyrrha isn't something for you to claim! She's one of the most amazing people I've met and she deserves more than to be treated like that! So, you better get ready because you're about to get your ass kicked!" Jaune reached into his pocket and pulled out his wind dust crystal and used his Semblance, his eyes shifted to light green before he charged Kuro again. Kuro just stood there and waited. Jaune went for a simple right jab and like before, Kuro grabbed his wrist to stop it. He grinned until he saw Jaune's smirk and instantly felt a force hit him in the chest, sending him flying backwards.

Kuro skidded to a stop and looked at Jaune with confusion. "What was that?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." Jaune said before he charged him again. He went for a roundhouse kick aimed at his head. As he was kicking, he used his semblance to condense the air around his leg. Kuro used his forearm to block it but the air blast still caught him in the side of the head. This caused him to lose his balance and Jaune capitalized by continuing the spin and to deliver an axe kick with his other leg. He connected it onto his shoulder and the air blast forced him to the ground. The force behind it caused him to bounce off the ground and Jaune went to kick him in the stomach. Kuro managed to block it but the air blast sent him across the ring.

Kuro slowly stands up, "It seems I won't be able to pull my punches with you. Let's see how you deal with the real power of the God of Victory!" he shouted and charged at Jaune. Jaune met him halfway, they both sent a punch to the other's face. Kuro used the full power of his semblance to alter his perception of time and move enough for Jaune's fist to miss him. He connected his into the side of Jaune's head. Before he knew what happened, Jaune released the control he had on the wind around his fist and the air blast shot outwards in all directions. It caught Kuro and the two were pushed back from each other.

The two quickly engaged each other again and the two started trading blows. But neither were able to deliver a decisive hit. Kuro would dodge or deflect Jaune's attacks but would still get hit by the compressed air. Meanwhile, Jaune would use his control of air to cushion the blows to only take partial damage or use it to slightly divert the attacks, but Kuro's attacks were still chipping away at him. After what seemed like an eternity, the two separated and both were breathing raggedly. Jaune was more exhausted than Kuro, due to the fact he fought Pyrrha beforehand. The only reason he was still in this fight was because his wind enhanced aura was increasing his stamina.

Kuro started laughing menacingly and this put everyone on edge. He stopped once he placed his hand onto his face and stared at Jaune from the gap between his fingers. "I have to admit; you are far more skilled than I gave you credit for. But it's time to finish this and be with my beloved." He flicks his wrists a certain way and blades flicked out of the sides of his bracers, forming a ninety five-degree angle with his arms. "Time to end this!" He charged at Jaune yet again. Jaune tried to avoid his blades but Kuro was now using his Semblance to figure out how he'd try to do so and would alter his attacks to hit him. Kuro was quickly chipping through the rest of Jaune's aura. Jaune quickly used his Semblance, he threw both his palms at him to try and push him away with a gust of wind. Kuro saw this and back flipped but as he did, two blades flicked out of his leg armor and caught Jaune in the chest.

Jaune fell to the ground exhausted. Kuro walked over until he was standing over him. "That's exactly where you belong, at the feet of a God. And now to be with my Goddess. You will never talk to her again, she belongs to me now." He said this and started to walk away.

Jaune was barely conscious at this point. 'Is this all I can do? Is this what my training was for? I'm sorry, Pyrrha. I wasn't strong enough.' His vision started to go black but as it did, he started to see everything he had ever done with Pyrrha. He felt a warmth in his chest and he knew what it meant. With newfound determination, he started to pull himself out of his unconsciousness. 'This isn't over. Get up.' He clenched his fist. 'Get up!' He started raising himself up with shaky arms. 'Get up, damn it!' With one last push he was now back on his feet. But what he failed to notice is that the air around him had formed a cyclone around him and his right eye was glowing light green, with the same colored flames surrounding his eye.

"Hey, Kuro!" he shouted and he turned in shock at what he saw. "Don't you dare touch my Pyrrha!" He shouted as he flew at him, literally flying with the air around him. He landed in front of him and delivered a series of devastating punches along with air blasts. He connected against his shoulders, both sides of his chest, stomach and solar plexus. Before he condensed the remainder of the cyclone into the palms of both of his hands, forming miniature cyclones. Jaune poured the last of his aura into the cyclones and they started to glow light green before he promptly slammed both palms into his chest. Kuro was sent flying across the ring and against the far wall as a green cyclone trailed behind him. Kuro fell off the wall unconscious and Jaune was left as the winner. He turned to Pyrrha with his usual smile before the room started to spin and next was only darkness.

* * *

Jaune woke up looking at a white ceiling and his head was pounding like crazy. He groaned and brought his hand to his head, "Déjà vu."

"Jaune!" He turned to quickly see Pyrrha envelope him in a tight hug. "You idiot! I was so worried. Don't scare me like that ever again."

Jaune returned the hug, "Sorry, Pyr. Didn't mean to worry you. But at least I won." He smiled and chuckled.

She pulled back from him, "That's not the point! Who cares if you won if you got hurt doing it. If you got hurt for my sake, I'd never forgive myself." Her eyes started to water.

Jaune pulled her close and put her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry but that's something I can't change." She stiffened slightly. "I will risk anything and everything to protect the people I care about. You are my teammate and moreover, my partner. You are someone that is precious to me and to have someone like Kuro talk about you like that, is unacceptable." His words about Kuro were dripping with venom. He leaned his head against her's before he spoke next in a softer tone, "You're someone I can't live without, Pyrrha." He said out loud but added in his head, 'Because I love you.'

Neither said anything and just stayed holding each other. Until Pyrrha pulled back a bit and looked into Jaune's eyes with a blush. She leaned in and kissed Jaune on the cheek, right next to his lips. She pulled away and her blush was the same color as her hair. "You're someone I can't live without either, Jaune. And thank you for defending me." She said bashfully.

Jaune recovered and with his own blush, smiled. "I'd do it again, Pyrrha."

They stared at each other with their blushes intact. Pyrrha finally found her voice, "So, I'm 'your' Pyrrha?" She said with a small smile.

Jaune blushed more and scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Uh, yeah, sorry about that. Kuro really pushed my buttons." He sighed, "I tell him not to talk like he owns you and I go off and do the same. Pretty hypocritical."

"Not really." Pyrrha said and Jaune turned to her. "Kuro didn't care about me the way you do. You genuinely care about me as a person, not as a celebrity or champion. That makes all the difference."

Jaune smiled at that, "Thanks, Pyr. By the way, what happened to Kuro after the fight?"

"Oh, his team showed up slightly after and escorted him away. They apologized to us for his actions. That reminds me." She said before she stood up, "I better tell Nora and Ren you're up. They went to make sure Team RWBY didn't go after Kuro for hurting you. I'll get everyone and bring them here, okay?" Jaune nodded and Pyrrha made her way to the door. She turned around and Jaune gave her a small wave. As she left, he gently draped his hand over his face and sighed.

"So, I'm in love with Blake, Yang and Pyrrha. I'm in deep trouble." he said out loud before he flopped onto his bed in the infirmary.


	31. Celebration

Jaune was released from the infirmary the next day. The doctors wanted him to stay the night to make sure that there weren't any other problems. Jaune was annoyed by this, it was nearly the same situation he was in the last time he pushed his Semblance into what he referred to as 'Stage Two.' His team and RWBY did show up to see how he was. They also hung around for the rest of the day until they had to leave. Jaune stayed up a while after that to think about the problem with his heart. How could he be in love with those three amazing girls? He sighed at his own stupid question before he opted to just go to bed.

The next day wasn't terrible. He was released somewhat early and he went to see his friends. Although, he found that both of the dorms were empty. He checked his scroll to see if he had any messages from any of them, he didn't. He sighed before he decided to go to the training rooms to work out for a bit. "I know I tell them not to worry, but they could've at least been around when I got released." He sighed before entering the training room. He set it up to fight nine drones at an advanced level. The timer started to count down, Jaune drew his new Kakiri and his eyes shifted to red. He had a small grin as the timer hit zero.

He started to cut into the robots with his broadsword, he liked the added reach he got from it. He was getting swarmed, so he started to rely on his increased strength and fire aided melee to help out. He soon cleared out the nine training drones he set up and was debating on whether to go again or not. He shrugged and restarted the training, he had nothing else to do. By the end of his second bout with the drones, his swordplay and melee started to mix very well together. He grinned before he decided to use the locker room showers to freshen up. He deposited his swords in his locker and left shortly after that.

He made his way to the cafeteria to grab a light lunch before he decided to walk around Beacon. It was a very nice day, warm and the breeze just added to the peacefulness. He made one full lap around Beacon before he sat under his group's usual spot under the same tree to rest. He was just sitting in the shade and started to wonder where everyone was.

He pulled out his wind dust crystal that he used against Kuro and just looked at it. Its color was dulled and he knew it was getting low on its energy. "I'm gonna need to get a new one soon." He said to himself before looking at his scroll for the time. He had about an hour before the next Bullhead would leave for Vale and decided to go do it today. He absorbed the last of the crystals energy and his eyes shifted to light green. He made sure no one was around before he created a small cyclone in the palm of his hand. He watched it for a while before he sent his aura into it and it started to glow the same light green as his right eye gained the fire-like effect.

He just looked at the now glowing cyclone in his hand. It was weird in a way. The elements boost his aura, and by extension himself, but with his Semblance in 'Stage Two' he could boost the element with his aura. They could boost each other temporarily but could never be equals. One would always have to get behind and support the other, but what would happen if the element and his aura could stand side by side?

"Jaune?" he was pulled from his thoughts and his eye stopped glowing by the accented voice of Velvet.

He turned to see her and Coco making their way over to him. He smiled and nodded at them. "Hey Vel, hey Coco. What are you two doing?

"Nothing much." Coco said. "We were going to head down to Vale. What about you?"

Jaune shrugged, "Just enjoying the day. I was planning on going to Vale too, once the next Bullhead was here, of course."

"Well, do you want to come with us then?" Velvet asked slightly nervous.

"That sounds great. If you two don't mind." Jaune replied.

"No trouble at all. But on one condition." Coco said.

"Okay, what would that be?"

Coco looked over her sunglasses directly at Jaune's hand, "Explain how you are doing that."

Jaune looked at his hand and realized he still had the cyclone infused with his aura in his hand. His eyes grew wide and he started to panic. He looked back at the two of them but calmed himself. He trusted both of them, they were his friends. He sighed, "My Semblance. Right now I'm controlling the air into a small cyclone. It's glowing light green because I'm using my aura to strengthen it." He turned back to them and the two were looking at him in disbelief.

"You never mentioned your Semblance before." Velvet said.

Jaune shrugged, "Sorry for not telling you. I just never liked broadcasting it."

"Why not? It seems pretty cool to me." Coco said with a teasing smile.

Jaune smirked before the cyclone flew out of his hand towards Coco. Before she could react, the cyclone snagged her sunglasses off her face and guided them to his outstretched hand that once held the cyclone. The two looked in disbelief again and Jaune chuckled, "It has a habit of getting me in trouble." He said before he slid them over his eyes.

Coco regained her senses and smirked at him, "Smooth move, Arc. Now how about you give me back my glasses before I get annoyed." She gently tapped her hand on her bag, which he knew was also her minigun.

Jaune got up and started to walk towards her. He took them off and held them out to her. As she reached out to for them, they suddenly shot up into the air due to a gust of wind. She looked up in shock before she felt Jaune put his hand on her stomach. She quickly looked at him before Jaune gently pushed her back a step. She was about to kick him in the crotch before he held his hand out again and her glasses stopped due to a small cyclone in his hand again. They then slowly moved forward until they gently went back to being on their owner's face. Jaune just smiled at her, "Better?"

She smiled slightly, "Bold move, Arc. You're lucky I didn't hurt you."

"Please, if you wanted to hurt me, you would've, Coco. That's who you are." He smiled, "But I like that about you. Although I don't understand why you wear those sunglasses. They're cool and all but you look way better without them."

Jaune, at that point, walked back to sit at the tree and missed the faint blush on Coco's face. The three sat around and just chatted with each other. They soon all made their way to Vale, Jaune used his aura to calm his motion sickness but he found it was only half as bad as his first trip. They decided to just stay together and do all their shopping together. They stopped by From Dust Til Dawn so Jaune could buy his new wind dust crystal. They then went to pick up more ammo for Coco's gun, which was an enormous amount. The two women then dragged Jaune to go clothes shopping. He wasn't happy about that but sucked it up. He gave both girls his opinion on their outfits. After about an hour and a half of that, Coco decided to ask Jaune something she was curious about for a while, "So, Arc, do you own any other clothes or what?"

Jaune sighed, "Yes, Coco, I do. They just all look the same. I have several pairs blue jeans and black shirts."

She looked at him in shock, "You're serious?"

Jaune nodded, "Yup. Just my style and I think it looks good on me."

"You do look good, Jaune." Velvet said.

Jaune smiled, "Thank you, Velvet. This isn't just a way to get me to make you brownies, is it?"

She looked away bashfully, "No. But your brownies are the best I've had."

Jaune chuckled, "Vel, if you want some, you just have to ask. Hell, I make Ruby cookies practically every week."

"That aside, we aren't leaving until we buy you at least one new outfit." Coco said sternly.

Jaune conceded. He looked around for a bit before he picked out a pair of black jeans and skin tight, long sleeve black shirt He quickly changed into it before showing it off to the two girls, "How do I look?" The two were just staring. The new shirt extended up his neck and was showing off all of Jaune's toned figure to them. They both agreed it looked good on him and soon they bought it along with their own outfits before they all left to get back to Beacon. Jaune carried their bags all the way to their dorm.

"You really didn't have to, Jaune. We could've managed." Velvet said to him.

"I know but I would've felt bad. Besides, this was just how I was raised." They got to their dorm and Coco opened the door for them. Jaune walked in and saw Fox and Yatsuhashi already there. He waved to them and they returned the gesture. He placed their bags on their beds. "Thank you girls for the trip. It was better than hanging out by myself all day." He smiled.

Both returned the smile before Coco spoke up, "Not at all. It was enjoyable, Arc."

Jaune sighed, "Coco, could you just call me Jaune? I think we're close enough for that."

"Hmmmm." Coco said with a mock thinking face on. "I'll give it some thought, Arc." She added with a smile.

Jaune just nodded before he started to leave, "And Yatsu, when are we having that Shogi rematch?"

Yatsu stopped meditating and looked at him, "Whenever you want. Just make it challenging this time." He said with a small smile.

"I almost had you and you know it!" Was all Jaune said as he left. He made his way from their dorm to his own and walked in. He found that it was still empty and shrugged. He put his new clothes away and made his way to the common room. He wanted some coffee after the day he had. He got to the common room and flicked the lights on but as he did, he heard people shouting, "Surprise!" Jaune quickly jumped back to see his team and RWBY there with a cake and a banner that said Happy Birthday. Jaune just stared at them for a bit, "Uh, guys? My birthday was last week."

"We know!" Ruby shouted as she came over and grabbed his hand before walking him into the room. "We couldn't celebrate it for obvious reasons, so we decided to throw you a party now!" She said excitedly.

Jaune sighed tiredly before he grinned slightly, "Thanks guys. Even though this isn't my thing, I appreciate it."

Nora jumped over to him and pulled him into a bear hug, "We just wanted to show how much we love you, Fearless Leader."

Jaune smiled and looked at everyone before he returned her hug and kissed the top of her head, "Thank you, Little Sister."

Ren walked over to them and handed him a small box, slightly bigger than his palm, "Don't thank her yet." He said with a small smile.

Jaune took it and opened it and his eyes lit up. Inside was a silver necklace. It had a silver fox that had the tip of its tail almost touching its nose to create a circle. It was Gin's symbol and it hung from a silver chain. Jaune looked up at Nora and Ren, "You two fixed it?" They both nodded before he pulled them into a hug. "I love you two." They returned the hug and when they broke apart, he put the necklace over his head.

"So, what's with the bling, Hero?" Yang asked.

"Mother gave each of us a necklace like this when we forged our weapons. It was like our graduation gift. I broke it when we defended that village. I carried it around but it was never the same." He gently slid the necklace under his shirt and felt the cold metal against his chest and smiled.

Pyrrha came up next and handed him a bigger box, "I hope you like it." Jaune unwrapped the box and opened it to see a white rerebrace exactly like his old one, except this one had the same fox symbol on it but in black. His symbol was also in the middle of the circle the fox made. Jaune looked over at Pyrrha and she looked away bashfully, "I know you said you couldn't get the sentimental value from a new one but I was hoping that this would help. Ren and Nora told me about the necklace and well…." She was cut off when Jaune brought her into a hug.

"I love it, Pyrrha." He kissed the side of her head before continuing, "Thank you." She nodded dumbly before she returned the hug with a blush and a big smile. They stayed like that until Yang coughed.

"That's cute and all but we're still in the room." Yang said teasingly but slightly worried. The two broke apart. Yang handed her gift to him. He opened it to find a pair of black fingerless gloves like his own but these had metal studded knuckles. Before he said anything, Yang spoke, "I thought you're hand-to-hand could use a push. I wanna see you use them in our next spar." She said with a grin.

Jaune just smirked at her, "You're such a masochist."

She returned the smirk, "Wouldn't you like to know." She said teasingly.

He playfully rolled his eyes, "Thank you, Yang. I'll install the metal sensors from my old gloves onto them and then I'll start using them."

"That's all? I don't get a hug or kiss?" She whined. Jaune gave in and hugged her, she returned it and he could feel her push her breasts against his chest to tease him. She then whispered into his ear, "What about that kiss?"

"Close your eyes." Jaune said. Yang was shocked but listened to him. She than felt his lips on her cheek and she opened her eyes. "Better?" She was slightly disappointed but nodded.

Blake poked him from behind and he turned to see her handing him a package. "I thought you'd like this, Jaune." He grinned at her and opened it.

He thought it'd be a book but found it to be a silver hoodie with a golden zipper. He pulled it out and just looked at it. "Wow, Blake, this looks awesome!"

She blushed slightly. "I'm glad you like it. I noticed your black one is getting worn out, so I thought you'd like a new one." She said out loud but added in her head, 'And maybe you'll give me your old one.'

She was brought out of her thought as Jaune hugged her as well. "Thank you, Blake. But would you mind if I wait to wear it for a special occasion? Would seem kinda wrong not to."

She returned his hug and nodded, "I don't have a problem with that. But, um…." She added nervously.

"What is it?" Jaune asked.

"Can I get a kiss too?" Before she knew it she felt a pressure through her bow, directly on top of her cat ear. Jaune pulled away and Blake blushed profusely at the realization. Jaune had just kissed her cat ear, indirectly but still. No one had ever done that before.

"Blake? You okay?" Jaune said as he was waving his hand in front of her face. She was not reacting at all. "Uh, I think I broke her."

"She'll be fine. Hurry up and open mine!" Ruby shouted as she appeared in front of him with a flurry of rose petals.

Jaune chuckled and opened it and found a black dagger in a sheathe. He took it out and unsheathed it. It had nine-inch-long blade and was balanced enough to where he could throw it if he wanted. He tossed it into the air then caught it in a reverse grip and got into a stance. He looked down at it and grinned, "You made this, didn't you?" She nodded proudly and Jaune just looked it over again, "It's perfect, Ruby."

She smiled, "I'm glad you agree. It took a long time to get it right."

"Have you named it?"

She shook her head, "No, I thought you'd like that honor."

Jaune looked it and thought carefully, "I think I'll call her, Kuroibarra."

Ruby looked confused before she turned to Ren with a raised eyebrow. "Black Rose."

She turned back to Jaune, who nodded. "But why?" she asked.

"Well, it's black and since you made it, it just feels right to name it similar to your weapon. They are like sisters and you are their mother in a way." He smiled and Ruby returned it.

"So, are you saying that the dagger is you're love child?" Yang added teasingly and this caused Ruby to blush as red as her cloak. She quickly ran and hid her face into Jaune's chest.

Jaune returned Kuroibarra to its sheathe before he hugged her. "Thank you." Was all he said and she nodded into his chest. She then said something but it was muffled due to his hoodie. "I'm sorry, Ruby, but what?"

She pulled back a bit and asked nervously, "Can I…. get a…kiss too?" She looked up at him.

Jaune looked over to Yang with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not gonna knock your block off this time, Hero." She said with a smile. Jaune nodded and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead. She blushed even further to the point it looked like she was about to pass out.

"You gonna be okay?" Jaune asked and she nodded before she walked away and fell onto the couch.

Jaune couldn't say anything before he felt something being pushed into his chest. He looked to see Weiss with her gift. Jaune took it before he looked at her. "Just open it." She said with a slight edge. Mostly from being nervous.

Jaune did and what he found shocked him. In the box was a white belt with five groups of three clips for his swords arranged around it. Each three was a certain dust he used. He looked at Weiss in disbelief. "Is this why you looked through my blueprints?" he asked as he started to put it on.

She nodded, "I thought that with everything you've done for everyone, me included, it was the least I could do for you. The four spaces in between the clips are magnetized so you can hold additional items. Like your scroll and new dagger." She said with a small smile.

Jaune had the belt on now and it felt right, for lack of a better word. The earth dust clips were on the left side of the buckle and the lightning dust was located on the right of the buckle. The water dust was on the middle of the left half of the belt and the wind dust was located in the same spot on the right. The fire dust was located on the back in the center. He looked at Weiss with and appreciative smile, "Thank you so much, Weiss."

She looked away with a slight pink of her cheeks. "It was no problem. I have money to spare. Besides, it'll help you in battle and you won't run out of dust anymo-eep!" She squealed slightly as Jaune brought her into a surprise hug. She returned the hug after the shock but realized the others were watching and tried to push him away. "Stop this indecency at once, you dunce!" She yelled in embarrassment.

"Nope!" Jaune said defiantly. "Not until this." He kissed her temple above her scar and she froze instantly. The pink on her cheeks turning bright red. Jaune let her go and turned to everyone. "Thanks guys. I couldn't have asked for better friends." He smiled brightly and they returned it. They spent the next hour or so just hanging out and talking. Along with eating the cake that Ren baked. Jaune was washing some of the dishes that they dirtied when he noticed another package on the counter. He dried his hands and went over to it. "Hey, guys? What's with this package?"

"We don't know. It was sitting outside our dorm room before we started decorating. It was addressed to you, so we decided to bring it with us." Pyrrha said.

Jaune shrugged before he opened the plain brown cardboard box. On top of the paper hiding its contents was a note. He picked it up and read it:

Hey Kid,

I know you've been looking for these for a while now. I finally tracked them down and decided to send them as a surprise. She would've wanted you to have them.

-Qrow

Jaune raised an eyebrow in confusion before he set the note aside and removed the paper from the box. He looked into the box and gasped. Ren and Nora went over to him and looked into the box and also gasped. The others turned and walked over to them. "What's wrong?" Pyrrha asked worried. They all looked into the box and saw two katanas; one black, the other white. They all knew who they belonged to.

Jaune slowly reached into the box with shaky hands, "Inkiri and Yokiri." He said as he slowly pulled them from the box. He had tears running down his face, a mix between sadness and joy. Ren and Nora also had small tears. "We could never find these swords after Mother's death. We never found out what happened to them. I can't believe we have them back." He said with a smile. Everyone smiled with him. He soon wiped his tears away and Ruby appeared next to him.

"What do these do?" Ruby asked excitedly.

Jaune smiled, "I'll tell you tomorrow, Ruby." Ruby started to whine but everyone was now back to cleaning up and getting ready to go to their dorms. Jaune was thinking the entire time that he was lucky to have people who cared for him so much.


	32. Inkiri and Yokiri

Darkness. That's what was around Jaune. No matter how hard he tried, his eyes couldn't penetrate the blackness around him. Next thing he knew, there were dozens of red eyes just staring at him. The Grimm started to charge from the suffocating darkness around him. He started carving through them, one after the other. Using his aura and dust to their full capabilities. He started hearing a voice, echoing over and over. The owner of the voice sounded scared and in pain. Jaune pushed further and further, killing Grimm faster and started running towards the voice. The voice started to sound closer but he had to keep fighting through the endless Grimm. He finally recognized the voice and paniced, he started to run faster, fight more ferociously. The voice was just outside of his vision, when he heard a blood curdling scream and he felt like his blood had frozen in his veins. He walked forward and saw her, his master and second mother, dead. He pulled her close and started to cry as the Grimm surrounded them. An Alpha Beowolf lunged forward and sank its teeth into his throat.

Jaune woke with a start. He sat up and quickly looked around, he calmed slightly when he saw he was in his team's dorm. He placed his hand over his eyes and tried to calm his ragged breathing. He realized that he was also covered in sweat. Once his breathing was under control, he checked his scroll for the time and found it was 6:30. He grabbed his clothes for the day and entered the bathroom. He splashed some cold water on his face as he waited for the shower to heat up. He showered and kept his head under the water for a few minutes after he was clean, trying to calm himself more.

He got dress and left the bathroom and wasn't surprised to see his teammates were still sleeping. He quietly went to his desk, where all his gifts from the previous day were. He put the necklace back around his neck and tucked it under his shirt before grabbing his rerebrace and Kuroibarra to put in his locker. He quietly left his room and made his way to the locker room. He placed his rerebrace with the rest of his armor and Kuroibarra in its sheathe next to his swords. As he made his way back to his dorm, he stopped by the common room to get some coffee. He made a pot and found a few cinnamon rolls in the cabinets. He took two of them and ate one while waiting for his coffee to be done. He poured himself a mug before leaving, sipping it as he made his way back to his dorm.

When he got back, he saw that Nora was up and was about to shout a good morning to him. He quickly placed his finger over his lips and pulled out the other cinnamon roll he got from the common room. Her eyes went wide and she nodded. Jaune smiled and gave her the roll. She bit into it with a big smile and Jaune could only smile and ruffle her hair. He then placed his mug of coffee on his desk before he grabbed his new hoodie. He put it on a hanger before placing it in his closet right next to his new clothes he got from Velvet and Coco. He decided to wear them at the same time because it looked like a decent outfit.

He sat down at his desk and moved his new belt to the side and put his new gloves in front of him. He took out his old gloves and placed them next to the new ones. He then took out some of his tools from his desk and began the task of removing the metal rings from his old gloves to install them to the new ones.

He took his time doing this and enjoyed his coffee while doing it. Soon all of his team was up and ready for the day. They were all relaxing in the room while they left Jaune to his work. He just finished moving all the sensors from his left gloves and was starting to work on his right glove when there was a knock on their door. "Would one of you get that? Kinda have my hands full." Jaune asked.

Pyrrha went to open the door to find RWBY standing there. "Good morning." She said cheerily.

"Morning, Pyrrha. Is Jaune around?" Ruby asked.

Jaune leant back in his chair to see them, "Yup. What's up?"

"You said you'd tell us what those swords did today!" Ruby said excitedly.

Jaune sighed with a smile, "I know and I will a bit later. I'm installing the sensors onto the new gloves. I'm just starting on the second glove, should only be another 30 minutes or so."

"That long?" Yang asked.

Jaune raised an eyebrow, "Considering if I screw up it will stop me from using my swords, yeah. I'd rather take my time with it." He turned back to his work. "If you wanna stay here, I'm cool with it. We're like a big happy family anyways."

He started working on his glove again as RWBY entered the room. Blake sat down on Jaune's bed and started reading a novel. Weiss sat at the end of the same bed and started filing her nails. Yang started to talk to Pyrrha about something but Jaune decided to not listen in, since it wasn't his business. He just got done installing the second sensor when he felt like someone was standing behind him. He turned to see Ruby standing behind him looking over his shoulder with a smile. "Ruby."

"Yes, Jaune?" she said with a smile.

"Why are you watching me work?" he asked curiously.

"I rarely get to see you work like this, it's cool seeing you do it." She looked away sheepishly, "Am I annoying you?"

He just rolled his eyes playfully and smiled, "No, Rosebud, was just curious." He turned back around and kept working. "Maybe if you learn enough about my weapons I'll let you help me tune them up on occasions." He snuck a peak over his shoulder to see her wide eyed and he smirked.

"Do you mean that, Jaune?" She asked.

"As long as you don't try to add anything when I'm not paying attention, yes I am."

He then felt her wrap her arms around his neck and gently lay her head on top of his, "You're the best friend I've ever had." She said happily.

Jaune smiled and gently rubbed her head, "Same goes for me, Ruby."

"Hey, what about me!?" Nora shouted as she was jumping on her bed.

Without turning around, he answered her, "Nora, you are practically my sister, you're in a category all on your own."

"Yay!" she shouted as she did a backflip while still jumping on her bed.

For the rest of the time Jaune was working on his gloves, Ruby was right there silently watching him work while she hugged him and rested her chin on his shoulder. Jaune didn't mind at all. Ruby was someone he had a strong bond with. Considering they had the same dream, were both team leaders and were allowed into Beacon by Ozpin personally, why wouldn't they? Some people thought that their relationship went beyond just friendship but that wasn't the case. Wasn't it? He honestly never thought of Ruby like that but that didn't mean he didn't see all of her great qualities.

"You okay, Jaune?" Ruby asked and he turned his head to her. They both realized that their faces were very close to each other.

"I'm fine. Why, Ruby?" He asked.

"You've been staring off for a while." She said and he could feel her breath on his lips and she could feel his breath on her's. The two just looked into each other's eyes for a while. They may have kissed if not for a certain blonde brawler.

"Jaune, are you trying to kiss my sister, again?" she said while standing behind Jaune.

Ruby blushed and buried her face into his shoulder while Jaune looked over his other shoulder at her. "If I remember right, it was you that caused us to kiss in the first place, Yang."

"That was an accident and you know it. That doesn't mean you get to kiss her again." She said a mix of annoyance and possible jealousy.

Jaune just shrugged and turned back to his work. "You've got nothing to worry about. The only time I'd ever kiss Ruby is if she asked me to." He said this and felt Ruby tighten her grip slightly and he just finished with his last sensor. "And with that I'm done. So, who's ready to see what Mother's swords can do?"

Everyone in the room agreed. So Jaune went over to his closet, where he left them. He attached both to his belt on his left hip and lead the others out of the dorms. They went outside and he stepped away from everyone else before speaking, "Okay. Who wants to be my opponent?" he asked and immediately Yang stepped forward.

"You're looking at her, Hero." She said with a smile as Ember Celica encased her arms. She soon got into her boxer stance.

Jaune returned her smile. "You asked for it, Sun Fire." He also got into his stance, but everyone noticed it was slightly different. His legs were apart as usual but his left hand was holding onto the white katana's sheathe while his right hand was holding the handle but made no sign he was going to draw it. "Ren?" he asked.

Ren stepped forward and held out a coin between his fingers, "When it hits the ground, it'll signal the start of the fight." They both nodded and Ren flipped the coin into the air. It stayed in the air for a few second and as soon as it hit the ground, the two shot off at each other.

Yang had her fist pulled back for a punch but Jaune still didn't have his sword drawn. Next thing, he drew the sword so quick that Yang barely saw it. She brought up her other gauntlet to block the sword but was sent flying back. She landed and was stunned. She barely had time to react to the blade because of how fast he drew it and the force behind the hit was similar to when he used his Semblance. She looked at his eyes but they were his usual blue. She looked at the sword now and it looked like a regular katana except it had a black line running up the middle of the blade.

Deciding to test the waters, she fired three shots at Jaune. He knocked them away with his sword before sheathing it again and charging at her with the use of his aura. Yang went to punch him but he intercepted it by drawing his sword again. The blade connected with her gauntlet again but she was ready for the force behind it. When they were still connected, she went for a left hook. Jaune ducked under it and slipped to her left to try to catch her in the side. She brought her arm to block the sword but was shocked to feel that his swing had twice the force of the first. Jaune took a step back before spinning clockwise to slice her across the chest but Yang crossed her arms to block but she was sent sliding backwards. 'That was triple the force of his first swing!' she thought in shock.

She noticed the shadow below her and looked up to see Jaune coming down with his sword above his head. She barrel rolled out of the way and Jaune's blade hit the ground and created a huge crater. She had to punch away some of the debris that came her way. When the dust cleared, they all saw Jaune standing in the center of the crater with the katana resting on his shoulder. He looked at Yang with a smirk before motioned for her to bring it on. Yang used both her gauntlets to fire off shots to charge at him. He waited until she was right on top of him before he used both hands to bring his sword in a downward arc. The blade caught the top of her forearm and sent he smashing into the ground. Which should have been impossible considering how short the swing was. Jaune quickly sheathed and drew the katana before he was bringing it down on top of her. She luckily brought up her arm to block it and realized the force behind it was way lower, before hitting him with an upper cut.

Jaune flipped and landed on his feet. He looked to see Yang standing there using her Semblance. Jaune sheathed his white sword before placing his hand on the black one and waited with his eyes closed. Yang didn't hesitate to charge him. Jaune quickly drew the black sword and a blinding flash of light was produced. Yang was temporarily blinded and missed her punch. She stopped and while she was still blinded, felt the blunt side of Jaune's sword against her neck. "I think I win, Yang."

She just sighed and opened her eyes. She could now see and there was Jaune with his usual smile. "Yeah. You do." she conceded the point.

Jaune sheathed his sword and everyone came running towards them. Ruby ran and jumped onto Jaune, almost causing him to fall over. "That was amazing, Jaune! How'd you do that?"

Jaune chuckled before he let her go. She gently landed on the ground before he drew his black sword. Everyone went to shield their eyes besides Ren and Nora. They were confused when no light was created. It looked identical to the other except the handle was black and it had a white line running down the middle of the blade. "This is Inkiri. The Yin Cutter. It has a special white dust in the center of the blade. When drawn fast enough, it releases a blinding light to create distractions or openings."

Everyone looked at it before Ruby asked, "Yin Cutter?"

Ren spoke up, "Yin refers to the darkness that exists inside of oneself. Mother Gin named it such to poetically mean, the sword to cut through the darkness."

"While I named my swords to be more dead on, Mother preferred to be more metaphorical." Jaune added.

"What about the other one? You were somehow creating massive amounts of force from that thing." Yang asked.

Jaune quickly sheathed it and drew the white katana. "That would be Yokiri. The Yang Cutter. It has gravity dust running through the center. When it is drawn, it activates the dust and allows for the force behind each swing to increase with each impact. Although it gets heavier to swing each time. The only way to reset it is to sheath and redraw it."

"That's why it was feeling like it was getting stronger. Wow. It's named the Yang Cutter and it has an ability similar to my Semblance. If that's not pun worthy, I don't know what is." She said with a smirk.

Jaune chuckled slightly, "Yang, in this case, refers to the light within oneself. It's a metaphor for, the sword that cuts through the light. Makes sense, since gravity is one of the few things that can effect light."

"And here I was thinking I was special." Yang responded with a mock hurt tone.

Jaune just sheathed Yokiri before walking up to her and gently taking her hand. "You are special, Yang." He said with a smile. Yang blushed slightly at that. It was a cute moment, until Ruby got behind Yang and used her Semblance to push her into Jaune causing them to fall over. The two landed with Yang on top of Jaune and the two ended up accidentally kissing. The two stared at each other wide eyed.

Ruby was off to the side and was grinning evilly. "I told you I'd get even, Yang." Although the wind was taken out of her sails as Yang closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him close, deepening the kiss. Jaune was just stunned and had no idea on what to do. He wanted to return the kiss with as much love but he just couldn't bring himself to do it, considering his feelings for Blake and Pyrrha. The kiss was finally broken when Blake and Pyrrha pulled Yang off of Jaune. Weiss and Ruby helped him up, with Ruby apologizing repeatedly. Meanwhile, Ren was just smirking and Nora was rolling on the ground laughing like a madwoman.

After a while, everyone calmed down and they made their way back to the dorms. Ruby decided to try to break the tension. "So, are you gonna start using these swords as well, Jaune?"

Jaune thought about it for a while, "I don't think so. They don't exactly follow my usual fighting style. I may only use them when the situation calls for it."

"That's a shame. They are really impressive weapons." Weiss stated.

"Couldn't you try to adjust them like you did with your other swords?" Blake offered.

Jaune shook his head, "Not really. I designed my swords, so that I could improve them over time. Mother made her swords to fit her fighting style. The only way for me to adjust them would be to completely reforge them." He ran his hand through his hair, "I'm not really comfortable with doing that though. I'd rather keep them like this, as a way to carry on her will." Everyone smiled at that. They spent the rest of the day hanging out and enjoying one of the last days of their break. The next semester was just around the corner and they had no idea what was in store for them.


	33. The Night Before

It was the night before the first day of the second semester and Jaune had awoken from another nightmare. Since the day he received Gin's swords, he'd been having the same nightmare over and over. This one was different though, it wasn't just Gin he found dead but Ren and Nora as well. Jaune had his hand over his eyes trying to calm his breathing as he was sitting up in his bed. He checked his scroll and saw it was only 1:30. He sighed and decided to go for a walk to try and calm himself.

As he left his dorm room, he saw RWBY's door open as well. Blake was standing there and stared at him when she noticed she wasn't alone. "Hey, Jaune. Why are you up so late?" she asked.

Jaune just sighed and leant his back against the JNPR's door, "Nightmare. I was going to take a walk to try to calm down. You?"

"Similar boat. I was actually going to ask you if I could borrow your hoodie for the night?" She looked at him hopefully.

He felt terrible about what he was going to say next, "Sorry, Blake, but with the new semester tomorrow I decided to wash it. It's still in the dryer right now."

Blake looked down sadly, "Oh, I see."

He felt worse with that. He wanted to help her and loving her made that desire more so. He thought for a while and came up with an idea. He blushed at the thought of it though. "Um, Blake?" She looked at him. "I might have an idea to help. You said my presence helps calm you, right?" She nodded. "Um, well." He started to scratch the back of his head sheepishly, "Would you like me to stay with you for the night?"

It took a second for Blake to realize what he said and she blushed hardcore at it. She had trouble meeting his eyes but decided to try to speak, "I wouldn't be opposed to the idea but are you okay with it?" She looked at him for a second and Jaune thought he saw hope in her eyes mixed with the nervousness.

Jaune nodded, "I wanna help you, Blake. If you'll let me."

Blake was silently thinking before she took a deep breath and looked at him with a small smile, "I would appreciate it, Jaune."

Jaune returned the smile and held his hand out to her. She took it and she followed him into his dorm. They moved to his bed as quietly as possible and Jaune laid down, leaving enough space for Blake while holding the blankets open for her. Blake took a second to undue her bow and tie the ribbon around her wrist before lying next to him. Jaune covered her and Blake scooted over until she rested her head on his chest. Jaune gently wrapped his arm around her and she sighed in happiness.

"Thank you, Jaune." She said in a whisper. "You're a great guy."

"Don't mention it, Blake. I'd do this for you, even if…" Jaune caught himself and was hoping Blake wouldn't pick up on his sudden stop.

His hopes were dashed with her next question, "If what?"

Jaune's heart was going a mile a minute. He swallowed nervously before he started to speak nervously, "Well, um, I kinda figured out how I feel about you."

Blake tensed, nervousness and hope surging within her. "Oh. So, what did you figure out?" her voice shaking slightly.

Jaune took a deep breath, "I found out, that I love you, Blake." He said with zero hesitation.

Blake's head shot up to look at him, her eyes wide and her mouth open. Before she eyes started to water and she had a big smile. But the smile slipped when she saw the conflict in his eyes. "What's wrong, Jaune?"

Jaune looked away from her as he spoke, "I also figured out that I'm not just in love with you."

Blake started to think about what he said and she realized what he meant but she still needed confirmation. "You're in love with Yang too?"

Still not looking at her he nodded. "I'm also in love with Pyrrha. And I've been noticing Ruby more lately but I'm not sure if I have feelings for her though." He sighed, "What's wrong with me? I could understand why I'd be attracted to all of you but to fall in love with you all, that's just not normal. I wanna make you all happy but that's just not possible. No matter what, I'm gonna hurt someone."

Blake took a second to sort through everything he just said. It was indeed abnormal for someone to fall in love with three, possibly four, people at the same time but even more so to tell one of those that you loved that you did. Under normal circumstance, she would think the person was just confused or lying to just be with multiple people. But this was Jaune she was talking about. He'd never do anything shady like that and he would never say anything that he wasn't positive of. She could also see the conflict in his eyes and it made her want to help him. "Does anyone else know?" She asked, the two still talking in whispers.

He shook his head before speaking again, "The only other person is my mom. I vented to her and she gave me advice, some of it more useful than the rest though."

"What did she say?"

"She said love is the most illogical thing out there and that I should try to accept what my heart is saying, instead of trying to rationalize it." He sighed again. "She also said no matter how this goes, the whole family would accept anyone that I would bring home." He hesitated but continued, "Even if it was more than one person."

Blake was shocked at this. 'What parent tells their child to have a harem?!' she thought. But as she thought more about it, she started to think that it seemed like the best option. This shocked her. But then again she knew how Yang and Pyrrha felt about Jaune and Jaune felt the same way for the three of them. But would they be comfortable with this? Was she? And most importantly, was Jaune? "Would you be okay with that?"

Jaune was stunned and finally looked back at her before turning away again. "I don't know. I would like to make you all happy and if I could be with all of you, well that would be great." He sighed, "But, it would never work. It's not like my Semblance has the stipulation that I need to have multiple wives, one for each element. Besides, who would agree to share the person they love with other people?"

They were quiet for a while until, Blake broke the silence. "I think I would."

Jaune quickly turned his head and finally met her eyes without turning away. Did he just hear her right? "What?"

She looked at him in the eyes while speaking from her heart. "I would, Jaune." His eyes widened in shock and she continued, "I love you. More than anyone before and if you feel that way towards me, why wouldn't I want to be with you."

"But Blake-" Jaune tried to protest but Blake but her finger on his lips, silencing him.

"You told me before that if you found out you were in love with me, that nothing would stop you from being with me. So, if this is what you need to do, I'll accept it. Besides, I don't want my partner and friends heartbroken in exchanged for my own happiness. As long as you show all of us respect and love us all equally, I think this could work." She gave him a smile full of confidence and took her finger away.

Jaune was taken back by all of this. He never even gave a thought of trying to date the three of them at once. But here Blake is saying she'd be okay with it. Could this work out? "Blake, are you sure about this?"

She nodded, "Yes. I am."

Jaune sighed before a small, sheepish smile formed on his lips. "Okay. I'm still not sure if this will work but I'll think it over. Let's hope Yang doesn't try to knock my teeth out." He said jokingly.

Blake giggled slightly, "Don't worry. Worst case, I'll step in and save you."

"Thanks, Kitten." He said with a smile. She blushed at her nickname before she moved to his lips and kissed him gently. She started to pull away but Jaune couldn't hold back anymore. He closed the space between them and kissed her back. She went wide eyed before she closed them and returned it. The kiss lasted a few seconds before they separated and stared into each other's eyes, they could only see love in them. They both moved in and kissed again. They separated and reapplied the kiss several times, neither able to get enough of the other's lips.

Blake wrapped her arms around his neck and Jaune pulled her closer with his arms around her back, deepening the kiss. With an unspoken word between the two, they both opened themselves and met one another's tongue. Their tongues began to wrestle with one another, both thoroughly enjoying the passion and pleasure they were giving and receiving. Jaune slowly moved one of his hand to Blake's head to pull her a bit closer. His hand was close to her ears and he was shocked when she took his hand and gently placed it on her ear. He took her cue and started to scratch her cat ears. Blake's eyes went wide and she moaned into the kiss. Jaune took this opportunity to gently slide his tongue down the length of Blake's, adding a new stimulation to the kiss. They soon reengaged in their heated tongue wrestle as Jaune kept scratching her ears.

Eventually, the two had to separate to breath. They stared into the other's eyes as they were trying to regain their breath. The two rested their foreheads together and closed their eyes. "Was that worth the wait?" Jaune asked curious.

Blake smiled and nodded slightly, "Very much so. I love you, Jaune."

"I love you, Blake." He responded with as much love as he could put in those words. The two shared one last chaste kiss before both fell asleep.

* * *

Jaune awoke the next morning but could only see something black in front of his eyes. He pulled back slightly and found it was a black cat ear. He looked down and saw Blake cuddling up to him with a content smile on her face. Jaune could only smile. 'So that wasn't a dream.' He thought to himself.

He was laying on his side with his arms around her back, holding her close. Blake was facing him, her face snuggled against his neck and holding him just as closely. He looked up at the other three beds and saw that his team was still asleep. He breathed a sigh of relief before looking back down at his Kitten. He gently kissed her ear and it flicked slightly afterwards. Jaune decided to stay with her for now. She was a light sleeper and didn't want to wake her by moving. He gently laid his head down and closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth with being with someone he loved. Something he almost all but forgotten at this point.

They stayed like that for several minutes. Until he heard a disturbance over in RWBY's room. He heard people moving around and muffled voices. Before he could think too much about it, their door swung open and Ruby was standing there. "Guys! Blake's missing!" She shouted and the NPR of JNPR were startled awake. Nora tried to jump up but quickly fell off her bed onto the floor. Ren bolted up right and looked around, unsure of what was going on. Pyrrha jumped to her feet with her pillow above her head, ready to fight whatever was happening.

Ren managed to blink away his slumber and speak up, while Nora was slowly getting off the floor and Pyrrha was regaining her senses. "What's going on, Ruby?"

"It's Blake! She's gone! We woke up and her bed was empty." She said as she was looking at all of them. "You guys have to help us…...find her?" Ruby's eyes landed on Jaune and Blake holding each other in his bed and her mind stopped working. The others followed her gaze and they all stared wide eyed; Ren and Nora in shock and possible approval, while Pyrrha was in shock and jealousy.

"Uh, I can explain this." Jaune said, not sure on what to do.

"Ruby, are they awake!" shouted Yang as she and Weiss came running into the doorway before stopping at seeing Blake and Jaune's compromising position. Weiss' jaw dropped, meanwhile Yang's eyes went wide before they narrowed and turned red, "Care to explain, Jaune." She said with a noticeable edge.

"Okay, this looks bad but it isn't what it looks like." He started.

"You aren't sleeping with my partner in your bed? Because that's what it looks like!" Yang shouted.

They all heard a groan and Blake spoke, "What's with all the yelling?" She slowly lifted her head and looked at Jaune, which made her smile. "Good morning, Jaune. Thank you for last night."

"Um, no problem but we have company." Jaune said as he motioned with his head to her team standing at the door. She looked and her happy expression turned to one of confusion then to panic and embarrassment. She blushed before she hid her face into his chest. Jaune just sighed before he looked at everyone. "Look, Blake had a nightmare last night. I couldn't loan her my hoodie because it was in the dryer, so I offered to stay with her to calm her. She agreed and we slept in here. Everything was PG, I swear."

Everyone thought this over and NPR accepted it. They knew he did the same for Nora, so it wasn't so farfetched that he'd do the same for Blake, although Pyrrha was still jealous. RWY was still thinking it over, they looked like they believed him but they wanted to be sure. Weiss spoke up, "Blake? Is this true? Nothing indecent happened?"

Blake slowly raised her head and sat up along with Jaune. She looked at them before nodding. "Yes. Jaune really helped me. Otherwise, I probably would've stayed up reading and would've gotten little sleep. Besides, I trust Jaune, he wouldn't do anything like that unless I was absolutely sure I wanted to." She gently took his hand in her's under the blanket.

Everyone nodded and agreed. "But why did you sleep in here and not in our room?" Ruby asked.

"I was not about to sleep in those deathtraps. Even if Blake's is probably the safer of the two sets." Jaune said.

Ruby just glared at him. "What's wrong with my bed?"

"Besides the fact that it's hanging from the ceiling by ropes? Nothing." Jaune said with a smirk.

That was the straw that broke the Goliath's back. "That's it!" Ruby shouted and charged at him. Before anyone could react, Blake got in front of Jaune and Ruby smashed into her Shadow before hitting the floor. As she got up, they all looked towards the bathroom; where Jaune was standing with Blake hugging his arm protectively. "Blake, why?" Ruby whined.

"I promised that if Jaune ever needed me then I would save him." Blake stated matter of fact like.

Jaune smiled and rubbed between her cat ears gently, "Thank you, Kitten." Blake leaned into his touch and purred slightly. She stopped herself in realization before she looked at everyone else. Pyrrha, Weiss and Ruby were shocked because they had no idea she could purr. While Ren, Nora and Yang had amused looks on their faces. Also, Nora had her scroll out and had taken a picture of them. "Nora! Now that picture cannot be sent, at all." Jaune told her sternly.

Nora just nodded with a big grin, "I know but it was too cute to not get a picture."

Jaune just ran his hand down his face with a sigh and Blake was busy putting her bow on trying to hide her blush. "Alright, everything is okay. So, can we just get ready for our day?"

"I guess so." Ruby said pouting after her failed attempt to get Jaune. She glared at him. "I will get my revenge, Jaune." She said.

"Ruby, the last time you tried to get revenge, you made me and Yang kiss." He pointed out.

"Thanks again, Sis." Yang replied with her teasing smile.

Ruby blushed, "Okay, I'll admit that wasn't my best idea."

"If you drop the revenge thing, Rosebud, I'll bake you a special batch of cookies."

Ruby thought it over, "Fine but they better be good." She said in her best Weiss impersonation.

Jaune went over to her and hugged her, "That's my Rosebud." He said happily and she blushed profusely. After that, RWBY went back to their room. Blake giving him a loving smile as she left. Jaune just returned it and thought to himself, 'I'm not sure if this is good or bad. But, it just feels right.' His smile fell though after a second. 'What am I going to do about Yang and Pyrrha though?'

* * *

 **A/N- The comment of multiple wives for his Semblance is a reference to one of my favorite Fanfics: Jaune Ryu-Long, the Dragon Contractor by azndrgn. Great story and would recommend heading over to check it out. Anyways, Vol. 2 official starts with the next chapter. Also, I'd like to thank all of you who have been reading and enjoying The Elemental Swordsman. It means a lot to me and I hope you all keep enjoying it.**


	34. Second Semester

After the eventful wake up both teams had that morning, Jaune showered and dressed in his uniform then waited for the rest of his team to get ready. He also decided to wear his new gloves and belt for the first time. He was checking how he looked in the mirror and thought it was improvement.

"You look good, Jaune." Pyrrha said also checking him out.

Jaune smiled at her through the mirror, "Thank you, Pyr. Still not dashing but I'm getting there." He said in a posh accent, which made Pyrrha giggle. "The belt is exactly how I wanted. Weiss even installed an aura lock on it." He said happily.

"Like your swords?" she asked.

Jaune nodded, "But, it can only allow my aura to gain access to the clips though. But considering my Little Sister, that's probably for the best." He said this as he lightly smacked away Nora's hand. She was trying to sneak up on him to try to get one of his clips of lightning dust. She pouted slightly at that and they all laughed a little before heading to the cafeteria. They all sat down at their usual table with WBY, Ruby was not there yet. Jaune was enjoying his coffee while they had idle conversation. That was until they all heard someone shout for Jaune.

"Hey, Arc!" They all turned to see Cardin walking over to them. Everyone, besides Jaune and Blake, were staring daggers at him but stopped when Jaune got up and walked over to him.

"What's up, Cardin?" He asked while waving at him. The two stopped a couple feet away from each other.

"I was just wondering if you'd wanna spar later? Maybe give my team and I a few pointers?" Cardin asked.

Jaune nodded with his usual smile, "Sure, Cardin. I have nothing going on as far as I know. Mind if we go a little light though? I'm not feeling a hundred percent today." Having nightmares for the last week left him slightly on the sleep deprived side. The only decent sleep he had gotten was with Blake the night before.

"That's fine, man. We don't wanna go overboard anyways. So, how about an hour or so before dinner?"

"That's fine by me. See you guys then." Jaune responded and the two nodded. They went their separate ways and Jaune sat down with his friends and he noticed they were all staring at him wide eyed. "What?"

"Did you just agree to spar with Cardin?" Yang asked.

Jaune just nodded at that. "But he's a scoundrel!" Weiss said.

Jaune just sighed, "Cardin is trying to change and help his team as well. He already apologized for what he did last semester. Blake was there as well." They all turned to Blake, who looked up from her book and nodded. "Look, we're probably never gonna be best friends but he's making the effort to change. And I don't mind helping him." He drank from his coffee.

"How can you forgive him that easily?" Pyrrha asked.

Jaune thought for a second before he shrugged, "Because he didn't do anything unforgivable. He screwed up and he is taking responsibility for it, so why should I hold a grudge?" Pyrrha was about to say something before Jaune gently laid a hand onto her shoulder. "I only hold a grudge when a person does something really terrible and could never make up for it." He took his hand away and gained a thousand-yard stare. "There are only three people I hold a grudge against. Two of them paid for what they did. The third will when I find them." He said this with voice just above a whisper and it made them all shudder.

No one said anything for a while but eventually Nora brought up her latest dream. Everyone listened to her with different degrees of interest. Jaune looked over to Blake and smiled at her. But something wasn't right though. She was on the same page of her book for entirely too long and her eyes weren't moving. He wanted to ask her but decided to not bring it to everyone's attention. He grabbed his scroll off of his belt, the magnetic space was way more convenient than keeping it in his pocket, and sent a message to his favorite Faunus.

Jaune: Hey, Kitten, is everything okay?

Jaune waited and soon Blake brought up her scroll. She read the message and looked across the table at him with a raised eyebrow. She then typed on her scroll and Jaune received a message immediately.

Blake: Yes. Why do you ask?

It was Jaune's turn to look at her with a raised eyebrow before sending her a message in return.

Jaune: Because you've been on that same page for ten minutes. That only happens when you're either sleeping or thinking.

Blake quickly read it and had a small smile before she sent him another message.

Blake: Guess you found me out. I'm just distracted today, no need to worry.

Jaune sent another message.

Jaune: You sure? I wanna help if I can.

She smiled before she sent a response.

Blake: I am and I know, Jaune. Thank you for worrying.

Jaune sighed and nodded his head. He thought about sending another message but was contemplating until he decided to send it.

Jaune: So, um, are we together-together now? It's fine if we aren't but I kinda wanna be sure.

He sent the message and waited with baited breath. Blake brought up her scroll again and soon she had a small blush. She looked at him with a shy look and a small smile. Whatever she was either going to say or send was interrupted when a giant white binder was slammed onto the table. Jaune jumped before looking at it then at the one who threw it onto the table, Ruby. Jaune sighed before standing up with his mug. "Jaune, where are you going?" Ruby asked him.

Jaune just smirked at her before walking away, "I need a refill." He held up his mug. "I think I'm gonna need it." He took his time refilling his mug and getting back to the table, hopefully missing Ruby's brand of crazy. He sat back down and heard the end of the reaper's speech.

"Look guys, it's been a good two weeks and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great! But, classes start back up tomorrow! Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today."

"Is this really necessary?" Jaune asked and everyone looked at him. "We spend all our time with one another. I'm confident in saying our teams are the closest in our year. Maybe in the whole school. We could probably go to Ozpin and he'd make us and eight-person team, if we asked." He said jokingly before drinking his coffee.

"We could do that? Let's do it!" Nora shouted causing Jaune to choke on his coffee.

"What?" Jaune said in disbelief.

"Yeah, let's do it! It'd be awesome to be one big team!" Ruby said with a lot of enthusiasm.

"Hold up." Jaune said, trying to stop this before it snowballed. "We'd have to decide on a team leader for the team and I'm pretty sure it'd be a tie between me and you, Ruby."

"I'm fine with stepping down to be the second-in-command and let you lead, Jaune." She said with a small blush. Jaune's jaw dropped before he turned to the rest of RWBY.

"You are indeed a good leader, Jaune, I have no qualms with following you." Weiss said as professional as she could.

"I'm with my sister on this one, Hero." Yang said with teasing look.

"Do you even need to ask?" Blake replied.

Jaune was panicking right now. He had no problem being the leader for both teams but with the unusual circumstances he found himself in with three of the six women, he was not a fan of this situation. Especially considering what Yang could and probably would do if they were on the same team together. He needed to divert from this conversation, now. So, he had to resort to something he hadn't had to in a long time. He took a breath before giving the command. "Nora. Distraction, now!"

Nora instantly saluted, "On it, Fearless Leader!" Nora quickly grabbed a pie. From where, no one knew or could ask before she threw it at Weiss with enough force to knock her out of her seat. Everyone just stared in shock before looking at Nora then shifting their gazes to Jaune.

Jaune placed his hand over his eyes. "Nora?"

"Yes, Jaune?" she asked with her usual smile and cheerfulness.

"Why did you hit Weiss with a pie?"

"You wanted a distraction and what could be more distracting than that? Plus, it was funny." She replied.

Jaune slowly slid his hand down his face and groaned. He looked over at Ruby and she was glaring at him. "You do realize this means war, right?" She said seriously.

Jaune sighed and nodded. With that, food was starting to fly and students started to run, screaming. JNPR quickly created a 'castle' from a few tables and vending machines; Nora was standing at the top laughing and shouting, "I'm Queen of the castle!" Pyrrha stood halfway up while Ren and Jaune stood on either side of the bottom with their arms crossed. Meanwhile RWBY was standing on the opposite side of the cafeteria with Ruby shouting, "Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful! It will be delicious!" with the rest of her team agreeing with a unanimous "Yeah!"

Nora then shouted, "Off with their heads!" and all hell broke lose.

Nora flipped a table to send a barrage of watermelons towards RWBY, Ren kicked another three and Pyrrha threw two more. Jaune stood behind them and touched a wind dust clip on the right side of his belt and activated his Semblance. His eyes shifted to light green before he clapped his hands together to create a gust of wind to send them flying faster.

"Yang! Turkeys!" Ruby shouted. Yang charged forward and stuck her arms into two turkeys before flipping forward and slamming her hands together. Before starting to punch as many of the melons as possible before jumping back to avoid the rest. Blake than jumped over her partner before rolling and picking up two baguettes. She ran forward with Yang right behind her. Blake cut through another salvo of melons before Yang took point and punch a few more followed with her sending the turkeys towards Jaune and Pyrrha.

Jaune stepped in front of Pyrrha, throwing his hand forward and created a wind screen to knock them away before both picked up their own baguettes before Blake dropped in on them. The two partners started to tag team Blake, the latter having to use her Shadow to avoid a two sided assault. She kicked Jaune in the gut and sent him back. She jumped into the air and threw one of her baguettes at Pyrrha who knocked it away. She then used her baguette as a javelin and Jaune shot his fist forward, applying more wind behind it. Blake couldn't react in time and was set flying back before slamming into her partner.

Ruby came sliding in, using a tray as an impromptu skateboard to grind across the tables before slamming into Pyrrha. She was forced back but was caught by Jaune, who smiled at her. Ren and Nora charged past them to engage in the front-line. Ruby quickly spun and Weiss took her place with a bottle of ketchup to form a puddle of ketchup that Ren slipped on and slid into a few tables.

"Not my REN!" Nora shouted in anger. She ripped a pipe out of the ceiling and impaled a watermelon to create a hammer before she slammed into Ruby. She was sent flying back and Weiss picked up a swordfish to resume her assault. She used a Glyph to send her flying forwards and hit Nora back. Nora slid to a stop before she shouted, "Jaune, pick me up!" Jaune set Pyrrha onto her feet again before he touched a lightning clip on the right side of the buckle. His right eye shifted to yellow before he sent an arc of lightning towards Nora, by whipping the same hand towards her, before his eye shifted back to light green. Nora absorbed the energy and charged Weiss, who was now on the defensive because of Nora's increased strength. Nora soon hit Weiss hard enough to send her flying into the wall and breaking a pillar. Bringing RWBY's numbers down to three.

Ruby quickly caught Weiss before she hit the ground, "Weiss! Don't leave me! Nooo!" she said dramatically while cradling her partner.

Yang ran forward with her eyes red and hair shining. She grabbed two more turkeys and with her Semblance active, shouting, "You made my sister cry!" Ren recovered and grabbed two leaks to engage the blonde brawler. Ren used his aura strikes to keep even but the physical hits were just making Yang stronger. Soon she used an uppercut to send him into the air and Ren sent the leaks at her with his aura palms. The leaks were turned into barrage of shrapnel aimed at Yang. Unluckily for him, they barely missed and she jumped up to slam him back into the ground. JNPR's numbers were even with RWBY's now.

Nora then charged to avenge Ren. The two titans started to battle again, both fighting for someone they loved. They were evenly matched. Until Jaune charged forward, bringing his left hand to the left side of his buckle to absorb dust from an earth clip. His left eye shifted to brown and he concentrated his aura into his left hand to catch one of Yang's punches. Jaune than stomped his foot into the ground and slid it to the left. The ground around them raised slightly and turned clockwise, giving Nora an opening. She hit Yang in the back and sent her through the ceiling. RWBY now had two members standing.

Jaune's left eye shifted back to light green before he looked at Nora. "Overkill." Was all he said to her and she just shrugged. Blake then flipped into the fray with several linked sausages to use as a substitute for a kusarigama. This sent the two of them flying into the vending machines and knocking down the 'castle'. Jaune fell to the ground and laid there because his endurance had dropped due to his wind enhanced aura. Nora quickly rolled out of it and started to send soda cans flying like her grenades. Blake started to backflip away from them. Pyrrha, seeing her partner down, decided she wanted revenge like her honorary sister. Using her Polarity to send waves of cans at Blake, sending her flying back and leaving Ruby to stand alone.

Deciding to finish this, she shot forward at her top speed. Pulling all the cans and food with her. She soon started to spin, creating a vortex of wind and food towards JNPR. Jaune saw this and forced himself to stand. He threw his arms out to the side and created a cyclone around himself before flying at Ruby. The two collided together and stood even for a second or two, while the cyclone spun around them with all the food still caught in it. Jaune was soon starting to get pushed backwards from Ruby's increased speed. She smirked at Jaune, "Give up, Jaune. You can't beat me when it comes to speed."

Jaune quickly had his own smirk, "That may be true, Rosebud. But you forgot one thing."

"What's that?" she asked confused.

"I know how to stop you." He said with a devious tone. He leaned in and kissed her right next to her lips. Ruby stared wide eyed before she whole head turned bright red and her brain stopped working. Jaune pulled her close and had her in a bridal carry, he used his Semblance to lower them to the ground gently and stopped the cyclone. The food falling to the ground a second after. Pyrrha, Nora and a recovered Ren joined him. They looked over to Weiss and Blake on their feet again. "I think we win." Jaune said with a smirk.

"How do you think that?" Weiss asked, not wanting to lose.

"Well, Yang is still skyward and we have captured your leader." Jaune said as he lifted Ruby in his arms half an inch. Weiss looked like she wouldn't give up. So, Jaune handed Ruby over to Pyrrha, "Hold her for a second?" She nodded and took the younger girl. Jaune made his way over to Weiss and picked up a pie. Weiss got into a defensive stance. Jaune stopped in front of her and handed her the pie. She looked at it with a raised eyebrow before she hesitantly took it. Jaune then closed his eyes, "Okay. Do it."

Weiss was shocked, "What?"

Jaune opened one of his eyes, which were now their usual blue. "Hit me in the face with the pie. Then we can be even. I was the on that started of all of this, anyways."

Weiss looked from Jaune to the pie then back to Jaune. "You sure?" she asked. Jaune nodded before closing his eyes again. He waited to feel it and after a few seconds felt a very small amount of it on the tip of his nose. He opened his eyes and saw a little bit of cream on his nose. Weiss was standing close to him with two of her fingers raised and some of the cream still on them. She gave him a small smile, "Now we're even."

Jaune smiled and wiped it off his nose and licked it off his thumb. "Thank you, Snow Angel."

Soon the doors to the cafeteria were thrown open and in came a furious Goodwitch. She used her Semblance to clean all the food, put the tables back where they belong and repair all the damage. She fixed her glasses before saying in a barely restrained voice, "Children, please, do not play with your food."

Nora then burped loudly and Jaune had to restrain himself from laughing. Until he remembered Yang and his eyes went wide. "Shit, Yang!" He quickly ran over to wear she was knocked through the ceiling and grabbed a hold of a fire dust clip from the back of his belt. His eyes shifted to crimson just as Yang busted through the ceiling. He caught her in his arms and a decent size crater formed under his feet from the force of her fall. Yang slowly opened her eyes after not feeling the impact she was expecting. She saw Jaune smiling down at her as his eyes shifted back to normal. "Hey. _Dropping_ in?"

Yang chuckled and smirked at him. "Nah, I just decided to _crash_ this party."

Jaune chuckled this time before giving her the same smirk, "Well, you did make quite the _impact._ "

She tilted her head slightly, "Hmmmm, true but I can be a real _downer_."

Jaune shook his head slightly, "You seem like a _catch_ to me."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, "Don't go _falling_ for me, Hero."

Jaune leant in closer to her and said just above a whisper, "What if I already have, Sun Fire." Yang's eyes went wide and she blushed. She wasn't sure if he was being serious or not. The shoe was on the other foot for once but she wasn't complaining. The two started to lean in closer but were interrupted when someone coughed. The two stopped and slowly turned to see their teams looking at them. Pyrrha had a jealous look, Weiss and Ruby had what could be described as conflicted, Ren and Nora had big smiles and approving looks, while Blake smiled at them with a smile full of understanding and support.

Jaune went to put Yang down but she gave him a kiss on the cheek before he could. "Thanks for the save, Hero."

Jaune smiled, "Anytime." He looked at the others, "What happened to Goodwitch?"

"Ozpin came by and the two left." Ren said and shrugged, "Something about meeting an old friend."

The group then decided to head to the dorms to freshen up. As they were walking, they noticed a lot of Atlas ships flying outside. "Well, there goes the neighborhood." Jaune commented.

As they were nearing the hallway where their dorms were located, Blake pulled him to the side. She pushed him against the wall and kissed him. Jaune was shocked but returned the kiss. After a while they broke apart. "What was that for?" Jaune asked curious.

Blake just smiled at him, "You asked if we were together-together, I gave you my answer."

Jaune smiled at her but it soon fell, "You sure, Blake? I mean, am I really worth-" Before he could say more Blake put her finger over his lips.

"Not another word. I want to be with you and you want to be with me. So, yes. Things will get better once you talk to Yang and Pyrrha, then we can figure out everything else. Okay?" Jaune nodded before he kissed her finger and gently nibbled it. Blake blushed at this. She took her hand away and leant against his chest. Jaune held her close while thinking, 'The second semester has barely started and things are already hectic. How on Remnant am I going to survive?'


	35. Pride and Motives

After both JNPR and RWBY freshened up, they all made their way to the library. Jaune stopped off at the common room in the dorms. He started to bake the cookies he owed Ruby and decided to make them a lot bigger than normal; so instead of two dozen regular cookies, he made half a dozen giant cookies for her. When he was done with them, he made his way to the library and found both teams. RWBY was setting up a board game and the rest of his team was studying, except Nora who was sleeping. He handed Ruby the bag of cookies and she thanked him profusely by hugging him tightly. He was only saved when Yang mentioned the board game and she quickly jumped into her seat.

Jaune sat down with his team and started reading a novel Blake suggested to him. It was about a man with two souls and it had caught his interest. He was just enjoying the relative peace, aside from the fact that Ruby and Yang were really getting into the game. Eventually, pieces started to fly and he tried his best to ignore it, until a piece hit him on his head. Jaune looked over and saw Ruby crying about losing, Yang happy for knocking Ruby out of the game, Weiss just seemed confused and Blake was just out of it. That's when Jaune got a devious smile and discreetly reached for one of his wind dust clips and absorbed a small amount of dust. His eyes shifted to the light green temporarily before he flicked his wrist at RWBY's table. A gust of wind came and flipped the board and the pieces went everywhere. They were all stunned and Yang wasn't happy.

"No! I was winning!" She quickly looked at Jaune with an analyzing stare, he was just sitting there reading and didn't even register what happened. Yang got up and stood right beside him and glared down at him. "Jaune?"

Jaune turned to her with a clearly fake innocence in his eyes, "Yes, Yang?"

"Did you use your Semblance to flip the board?"

Jaune gave her a shocked look, "Yang, of course not." He said with a hurt tone before looking back at his book. "I would never do that." He said, trying to hold back a smile.

This didn't get past Yang. "Jaune, I was winning, why?"

Jaune shrugged, "I was winning that shogi game against Ren when you caused me to flip the table. So, karma." He looked at her and gave her a teasing smile. Yang got Jaune into another headlock and was not letting go. Although, she wasn't squeezing nearly hard enough to hurt him so he just went back to his reading while Ruby and Weiss went about picking up the game.

That was until Sun and some other guy with blue hair came around the corner. Sun gave them a wave, "Sup, losers?"

Jaune looked up to him and gave him a two finger salute. "Hey, Sun. And losers? Wasn't I the one that saved your ass twice at the docks?" He smirked at him.

Sun nodded for a second, "Fair enough. Anyways, I wanted to introduce you guys to my old friend." He said motioning to the blue haired guy.

"Uh, aren't libraries for reading?" he asked.

Ren quickly threw up his arms, "Thank you!" That woke up Nora who quickly followed up with, "Pancakes!" Jaune just chuckled at their antics.

Sun spoke up again, "Shut up. Don't be a nerd."

The blue haired guy held a finger up to him. "Hey, 'intellectual', okay?" he turned to the rest of them and gave a small wave, "I'm Neptune Vasilias."

RWBY introduced themselves and Weiss brought up a question, "So, Neptune, where are you from?"

"Haven. Thanks for asking, Snow Angel." He answered with a charming smile and Weiss blushed faintly.

Jaune laughed at that, trying to ignore the faint jealously he was feeling. "Small world. That's the nickname I've been calling her since day one." Jaune walked over to him and held his hand out to him, "Jaune Arc." The two shook hands and indicate the rest of his team, "This is my sister, Nora and brother, Ren. And my partner, Pyrrha." They all exchanged greetings and Sun made his way over to Blake.

"I never took you as the board game type." He said cheerfully and clearly flirty.

Blake just rolled her eyes and gently pushed him away. "I think I'm done with playing actually. I'll see you guys later." She said as she walked away. Sun had a hurt expression and everyone else was giving a look as Nora just shrugged and added, "Women."

Jaune sighed and went up to Sun, "Sun, can we talk? In private?" He said while walking to him.

Sun looked at him in confusion before nodding, "I guess so."

Jaune took the two of them a few rows of bookshelves down before he thought that they were far enough away that no one would overhear them. He leant up against the bookshelf. "So, you like Blake." He stated, not asking.

Sun just sighed, "Yeah but looks like I'm not making any progress." He looked at Jaune with hope, "Think you could give me tips?"

Jaune just rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Sorry, Sun. But Blake's already with someone."

Sun's mood dropped, "Oh. Is he at least a good guy?" he asked.

Jaune shrugged slightly, "I would say yes but that would be bias."

Sun just looked at him in confusion before it clicked, "Wait a minute, it's you!"

"Shhh." He said as he brought a finger to his lips. "Not so loud. Yes, me and Blake are together. We literally just got together but our situation is complicated so we are trying to keep it quiet for now."

Sun nodded, "Oh, I see. Sorry man, if I knew I wouldn't have hit on her." He said embarrassed.

Jaune just waved it off, "It's fine, Sun. You didn't know and I trust Blake, so no harm done. Besides, I'm only telling you because she'd be the one having issues with you flirting with her, not me." He chuckled, "Trust me, you don't wanna be on her bad side."

Sun chuckled, "Yeah, I noticed that at the docks. So, we're cool?" he asked with his fist extended.

Jaune quickly bumped it, "Frosty." He said with a smile. The two rejoined the rest of the group. Neptune took Blake's spot in the game and Sun was retelling the tale of the docks for Nora's amusement. Jaune then told Sun about all the stories that his team and RWBY had gotten into with Yang and Ruby adding their own input from time to time. Eventually, Neptune completely schooled RWY at Kingdoms of Remnant and they decided to call it for now. RWY went back to their dorm while Neptune and Sun decided to go check out the campus. JNPR was just relaxing until Jaune noticed that Ruby forgot her game. He checked his scroll and saw it was close to when he said he'd help Team CRDL. He got up and picked up the game. "Guys, I need to meet up with Cardin and I'm going to return this." He said indicating the game in his hand. "I'll see you guys at dinner."

"Alright, try to enjoy yourself." Pyrrha said and Jaune nodded to her.

Jaune made his way to the dorms and was about to knock on RWBY's door when her saw it wasn't closed all the way and he could hear Blake almost yelling, "Our enemies aren't just going to sit around and wait for graduation. They're out there, somewhere, planning their next move, and none of us know what it is, but it's coming! Whether we're ready or not!"

It was quiet until he heard Ruby speak next, "Okay, all in favor of becoming the youngest Huntresses to single-handedly taking down a corrupt organization conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale, say aye."

Jaune had enough at that point and pushed the door open before leaning against the door frame, "How about nay?" They were all stunned with him standing there. Before they spoke almost at once.

"Jaune, why are you here?" Ruby asked nervously.

"How much did you hear?" Weiss asked almost accusingly.

"What do you mean, nay?" Yang asked confused. Blake was just staring at Jaune, like a deer in headlights.

Jaune got off the door frame and stepped into the room. "In order. You forgot this and I was returning it to you." Jaune put the game on one of the desks. "I heard Blake yell and Ruby's little offer. And I said nay because that is by far the dumbest thing I've heard."

Blake got her senses back at that and got angry, "It's dumb to try and stop people from doing terrible things."

Jaune just looked her in the eyes, not amused. "No. It's dumb to think that a group of four can take down an entire group of terrorists." His voice had an edge.

"What, you don't trust us?" Yang said with an edge as well.

"This has nothing to do with trust." Jaune said with his voice still holding that edge. "Do you honestly think that you four can do this? Fully trained Huntsmen and Huntresses have been trying to stop them since they turned violent and they've had zero effect. People with more experience and skill than you, I may add. Yeah, you're skilled, some of the best in the first years but again we are _first years_." Weiss looked away, silently agreeing with his point. "Thinking you can single-handedly do this is not smart, its arrogant and that'll get you killed."

"You don't know that." Ruby tried to defend them.

"I do!" He shouted, cutting her off. "The White Fang aren't regular thugs. They'll kill all of you without a second thought, especially you, Weiss. It doesn't matter how skilled you are, out there all it takes is just one miscalculation, one misstep or even just being unlucky to wind up dead."

They were all quiet until Blake spoke up, "Jaune. We aren't Gin and Amber." As soon as she said that, Jaune aura exploded outward and illuminate the room. They were all stunned until the light faded but the could see Jaune barely holding back his anger.

"You're right. You aren't, you're still alive." He said barely keeping the anger out of his voice. "Answer me this. If it was a White Fang member or you. Could you kill them? Would you kill them?" He said this and everything went quiet, deathly quiet. "Because if you choose to do this, it will eventually come down to that. They have no qualms with killing you and if you get in their way enough, they will try with everything they have to kill you four. And if it comes down to that, could you kill them before they kill you? Or someone you love?" They didn't say anything and Jaune made his way to the door but stopped in the doorway. "Do this and eventually you'll get blood on your hands and that'll change you. No matter how strong, smart, skilled or any other adjective you wanna use. It'll change everything and you'll have to keep looking at yourself in the mirror every day and accept that." He turned back around to them and looked them in the eyes. "That's a decision you'll have to make and live with. For better or worse. Just think all of this over before you decide anything. Because if you decide to do this and get into a life or death situation with them and hesitate." He looked away but his eyes lingered on Blake for a few extra seconds. "You'll end up dead. And it'll be the rest of us that'll have to live with it." He said sadly before he closed the door and walked away.

Jaune was walking down the hall, his mind was everywhere but where he was. He was so distracted that he bumped into someone and nearly knocked them down. He managed to catch them before they hit the ground though. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" he looked down to see that the person was a beautiful woman with long black hair and with amber eyes. He helped her stand as she was speaking.

"It's alright. But you should be careful." She said with a smile.

Before he could say anything, her silver haired friend walked up next to him, "I suggest you watch yourself." He said with an aggressive tone.

Jaune just looked him in the eyes with a raised eyebrow. He was in no mood for this, "First, it was an accident and I apologized. Second, she accepted the apology and she wasn't hurt. Third, I'm not intimidated easily, so I suggest you get out of my face." He stared back and said the last part with just an aggressive tone. His hand was hovering above his water dust clips, just in case.

The two just stared each other down until the green haired girl said something to him, "Mercury, come on." Mercury looked at her before looking back at him and walking away with a scowl.

His attention was brought back to the black haired girl in front of him. "I'm sorry about him. He can be protective."

Jaune took a deep breath before speaking calmly, "No harm. Not in the best mood myself. Anyways, we haven't met." He held out his hand, "I'm Jaune."

She took it, "Cinder. And they are Emerald and Mercury." Jaune nodded to them. "We're actually visiting from Haven."

Jaune nodded before taking his hand back, "For the festival, right? But the exchange students have their own dorms though."

"I guess we got turned around." Emerald said.

Jaune waved it off, "Happens. Your dorms are just east of here."

Cinder gently laid her hand on his chest, "Thank you, Jaune. Maybe we'll see you around?" she said in a sultry tone.

Jaune's eyes widened slightly before his mind went to Blake, Yang, Pyrrha and with a mild shock to him, Ruby and Weiss. Jaune shook his head slightly. He may be annoyed with them but still. "Sorry, Cinder, but I'm in a relationship. But I'd never turn down an offer for a new friend."

Cinder had a look of mild shock before she had a small smile, "Good to know. See you later, Jaune." She took her hand away and walked past him. Emerald and Mercury followed with Mercury bumping into Jaune's shoulder. Jaune just ignored him and kept walking. He also missed what Cinder said next, "Very interesting."

* * *

Jaune made his way to the locker rooms. He grabbed his swords and armor. As he put on the new rerebrace he got from Pyrrha, he smiled. It felt like a missing piece of him was returned. He walked out and saw all of Team CRDL waiting for him. They decided to have four short matches, the match would end when either person lost a third of their aura. Jaune fought with all of them and found a few flaws in their fighting styles and gave them a tip or two.

Russel was pretty quick on his feet and was good with his daggers but he had the tendency to pull back too soon if things got heated, instead of capitalizing on the opportunities that would arise. Sky had decent acrobatics and unique attack styles with his halberd but he had little in the defensive department. Dove seemed to be the most skilled out of CRDL, his only problem was that it was obvious on when he would choose to use his swordsmanship or his long range capabilities. Cardin's strength and explosives were still a powerful combination, but his only problem was his temperament. Jaune suggested he try to channel his anger instead of just letting it control him. They all accepted his points and agreed to work on it. They thanked him and they went their separate ways.

Jaune was going to head to the cafeteria after he put his weapons and armor back. But remembering what happened between him and RWBY, he decided to avoid that. He made his way to the common room and made himself some tea. He decided that since he was already having trouble sleeping he shouldn't drink any coffee for the night. He filled a mug and left the kettle on the stove. He sat down on the couch and went back to his book while sipping at his herbal tea. It was peaceful until he got a message on his scroll. He put his tea on the coffee table in front of him and checked his scroll. It was from Pyrrha.

Pyrrha: Jaune, where are you? I don't mean to bother you but you said you'd be here for dinner. Is everything alright?

Jaune thought for a bit and decided to not tell her about what happened with RWBY.

Jaune: Sorry for not telling you. I'm at the common room and getting to a very good part of my book. I wanted to read in peace and that really doesn't go well with Nora.

He sent the message and put his scroll on the table. He drank a bit more of his tea and kept reading. But he was interrupted when he heard a familiar voice. "Hi."

He looked to see Blake standing in the doorway, looking nervous. "Hey." He replied before he went back to reading. He pointed at the kettle on the stove. "There's tea, if you want."

"Thanks." Was all she said as she walked over to the stove. She got a cup and sat down beside him. They were in silence for a while until she spoke up. "Can we talk?"

Jaune marked the page and put his book down beside his tea and looked to her. "Yeah." The two looked at each other for a while until Jaune sighed, "Would you have told me if I didn't find out?" She looked away slightly and Jaune already knew the answer but it still hurt. "I thought so." He started to get up until he felt her grab his forearm. He looked and she was looking at him with a sad look in her eyes.

"Please." That was all she said and he sat back down. She was still holding onto his arm but she didn't say anything.

"Blake. I understand why you wouldn't want to tell me about this mission of yours but you can't hide something like that from me." He looked down at the table. "We're a couple now and we need to be honest and to be able to trust each other. If you did this and I didn't know..." He stopped for a second. "If you got hurt or worse, what do you think that would do to me?"

She wrapped her arms around his and rested her forehead onto his shoulder, "I'm sorry." Was all she said in a shaky voice.

Jaune in response brought up his other hand and held one of her's. "I know." They were quiet for a bit until he continued. "Blake, I don't like to pry but if you could explain to me why this is so important to you, then maybe this would be easier to work through."

She was quiet and was still leaning on his shoulder before she nodded slightly. "I'll try." She didn't look up but she kept talking. "You know about five years ago, the original leader of the White Fang stepped down and a new leader stepped up?" Jaune nodded. "Well, that original leader is my father."

Jaune looked at her shocked. "That's what you meant when you said you were born into it?"

She nodded, "I got into an argument with my parents before I came to Vale. I called them so many things, terrible things. I joined my old partner and mentor, he always assured me that we were doing was for the betterment of the world. And I believed him." Her words were a mix of pain and venom. "My family's creation has turned into something so evil and I helped it." Jaune could feel his shoulder getting wet, "I helped it."

Jaune pulled her into a hug and she started to cry into his chest. He didn't say a word, just held her and let her cry. Eventually she stopped and they just held each other. "You want to do this to atone for your mistakes and to try to return the Fang to what it was, right?" She nodded with her head still on his chest. "I understand why you want this, Blake. But this is still crazy and stupid." She tightened her grip on his shirt before he sighed, "But I know you're too stubborn to be dissuaded. Hell, you're dating me and are okay with me having more than just you as my girlfriend."

She looked up at him in disbelief and she still had some tears falling. He gently wiped them away. "So if you decide to do this, I want you to agree to two things: One, at least let me join you girls. Just in case things go wrong. And second, just promise me you'll come back safe. I can't lose you." He pulled he closer.

She nodded with a small smile, "I promise and if you wanted to tag along, you just had to ask."

The two smiled and leant in for a kiss. When they separated, Jaune spoke. "So, wanna head to the cafeteria?"

"We could. Or we could just enjoy our time together." She said with a smile and pulled out the sequel to Ninjas of Love.

Jaune just smiled, "Oum, I love you." He laid down with her laying on his chest. They started reading and Jaune removed her bow and started to scratch behind her ears. She started to purr, until she felt him kiss the back of her ear and she blushed profusely. She looked up at him shyly and he just smiled at how cute she was. They eventually had to separate when their teams showed up, they wanted to keep their relationship quiet until Jaune had the chance to talk to Yang and Pyrrha. But the time they had was perfect in their minds.


	36. Blood

It's been a few days since Jaune had his disagreement with RWBY but things were still strained between him and RWY. There was no hostility between them but a lot of awkwardness. Like neither party knew what to say or do around the other. Blake was trying to be the go between but she was getting sick of it. The only good thing that was coming from this, was that the two now had excuses to sneak off together. Both enjoying their time alone immensely but were still anxious for Jaune to talk to the other four girls. Jaune admitted to Blake that he realized his feelings for Ruby and Weiss recently, so they could figure out what to do next.

Which brings us to why Jaune was standing in front of RWBY's door, extremely worried. Blake had pretty much told him that they really couldn't go on the mission if everyone refused to talk to each other and that he would have to talk to them. Jaune swallowed nervously and raised his hand to knock on the door but stopped before he lowered it again. He sighed, he pretty much had been doing this on repeat for about ten minutes now.

"You need to talk to them, Jaune." Came Blake's voice from behind him. This would usually cause him to jump but he was too nervous to care about his girlfriend popping out of thin air, again.

"I know. I don't even know what to say though. I mean, I have a good idea on what the problem is but still."

He felt Blake hug him from behind, "You know they don't hold a grudge against you. Just go in there and talk like you usually would. Nothing's changed, Jaune."

He smiled and took one of her hands before kissing the back of it. "Thank you, Kitten."

She kissed his cheek before leading him into the room. The other members looked up from their activities: Weiss was studying, Yang was reading a magazine and Ruby was working on Crescent Rose. The four just looked at each other for a while in silence. Until Blake elbowed him and gave him a look. He sighed and started to scratch the back of his head, "Ruby, Weiss, Yang, I want to apologize for losing my temper with all of you. You didn't need me to do that but I was just concerned for you is all."

They were quiet for a while until Ruby got off her bed and stood in front of Jaune with her usual smile, "It's alright, Jaune. You gave us a reality check that we all needed."

"Yeah, we were a little too anxious to do something crazy. Thanks for the save, Hero." Yang said from her bunk.

He then turned to Weiss, who had a small smile, "This isn't the first time you needed to set me straight. It's okay, Jaune."

Jaune smiled slightly, "Thanks guys. I just couldn't imagine what I'd do if I lost any of you."

Ruby took his hand, "Same goes for us. Besides, you did bring up a good point. Doing this may make us get blood on our hands." She looked down sadly. "That wasn't something any of us thought of until you said that and I don't think any of us would've been even slightly ready for that."

Jaune gently squeezed her hand, "I know and I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I just didn't want it sneaking up on you. That would make things harder." He looked away slightly.

"You sound like you're talking from experience." Weiss stated. "But you told us when you killed for the first time. So what are you referring to?"

Jaune sighed and steeled his nerves before he turned back to them. "The captain of the guard I killed wasn't the first person I killed. He was my second." After he said that, the four girls were shocked.

"What happened?" Ruby asked before she quickly put her hand over her mouth.

"It's fine, Rosebud. I came to terms with it a long time ago. I'll tell you all but you all have to promise me you won't tell anyone on my team. Especially, Nora."

The girls looked at each other before they nodded. Jaune grabbed a chair and sat it down between the two bunks at the end of the beds. He turned it around so that he was leaning his arms on the backrest. Ruby and Weiss sat on the latter's bed while Yang and Blake did the same on Blake's. Jaune took a deep breath and started. "I told you all about my second mother. But what most don't know is that she was once a member of the White Fang, before they turned for the worse, of course. She helped in every way she could but when she took me in, she had to lessen her time with the Fang. Until she took in Ren and Nora a year later and then she had to leave the group to focus on raising and training us. The Fang still contacted her if they desperately needed her help for one thing or another. She'd help if she could."

He sighed. "But that changed five years ago. When the new leader stepped up, the Fang tried to 'recruit' her again. She denied every time but each denial made them more aggressive and dangerous. It finally came to a head about four years ago. We were all home, just enjoying our time together. She heard something and grabbed her weapons. She told us to stay in the house and not come outside. Of course, being us, we didn't listen. We looked out the window with the drapes still drawn. We saw her standing across from about half a dozen White Fang. They weren't wearing masks but I don't know whether that was before they started to do so or some other reason. We couldn't hear what they were saying but we had to guess they were trying to get her to join up again. Eventually, they all pulled their weapons and they started fighting. Gin had the advantage and probably would've been fine." Jaune took a second to collect himself.

"What happened? Ruby asked again.

Jaune took a deep breath. "Nora. Gin got pushed into a corner after taking down two of the six. These guys must've been some of their best. They pushed her and Nora couldn't stand to see her new mother to get hurt." Jaune looked up to the ceiling. "She grabbed her practice hammer and ran out the door to help. Ren and I grabbed our weapons and followed her." He looked back to the girls. "When we got out there, Nora had already knocked out one of the weakened White Fang. Gin panicked at the thought of Nora getting hurt and she took out two more but it was already too late. The leader of the little group had disarmed Nora and was holding her by her throat. She was struggling to breathe and Ren lost it and ran forward to try and save her. He had his father's dagger ready to stab into him but the Faunus dodged his strike and punched him to the ground before he stepped on his chest, enough to hurt him but not kill. He pulled out a gun and aimed it at Nora who was on the brink of passing out from lack of air. He gave Gin and option, join them or watch the two of them die."

Jaune stopped and placed his hand over his eyes. Even though he made peace with this, reliving it was painful. He felt someone lay a hand on his shoulder and he took his hand away. He saw Blake giving him a concerned look. Jaune gave her a small smile and nod. The smile fell and he continued. "I was standing seven feet away from him with my practice sword drawn and a fire dust crystal in my other hand. I froze. Thinking of losing Ren and Nora, who I was already starting to see as siblings, was too much for me. The fear warped to anger. Rage. I was never so mad in all my life and I snapped. On reflex I absorbed all the energy from the dust crystal and my aura erupted into flames. The flames than started to glow crimson along with my right eye." He brought up his hand and placed it over his eye, remembering the sensation. "That was the first time I pushed my Semblance into 'Stage Two'."

"Stage Two?" Weiss asked. After all the times she helped Jaune with his Semblance, she never heard him mention this.

"Right, never talked about that. Simply put, Stage One is where I absorb the element and allows me to manipulate it. Plus, the element enhances my aura giving my body physical boosts. Stage Two is where I use my aura to increase the power of the element and increase my control over the element. It's what I used at the docks and against that tool Kuro. Although if I'm low on aura or use it for an extended period of time, I'll pass out."

"Sounds risky." Blake said sounding concerned.

Jaune shrugged, "I don't use it often so no harm. Anyways, when I did that, I charged towards him. He quickly dropped Nora and stepped off of Ren while shifting his gun into a sword. We clashed and I pushed him back. He was still in shock and decided to try to hold me off but that was a mistake. The enhanced strength I had combined with the intense flames I was creating broke his sword in half." Jaune looked away, "My momentum carried and I sliced through his throat. I got covered in his blood and he fell to the ground shortly after. And I passed out from the strain of my Semblance."

He looked back to see RWBY just staring at him. "I woke up not long afterwards but remembered every detail. I locked myself in my room for days. All I could remember was that Faunus' dead eyes just staring at me and his blood that covered me. I didn't want to see anyone. I just felt like a monster. Eventually, Gin had enough and came into my room. She sat me down and pulled me into a hug. She then told me that she didn't know if what I did was the right thing to do. But too many good things came from it to be the wrong thing. She explained that if I didn't do that then Nora could've died and I should focus on that. Even though I took a life, I saved the life of someone dear to me." He looked at them with a sad smile. "So, I really don't regret it."

Everyone was quiet for a bit and Yang broke that silence, "So, why don't you want Nora to know?"

"Nora was barely conscious when I killed him. We believe she may have repressed those memories and we don't wanna accidentally make her remember them." Jaune ran his hand through his hair. "She has enough trauma already, I don't wanna add more. Besides, she might not see me as her 'Fearless Leader' if she found out the truth."

"That's stupid." They all heard the voice and Jaune's eyes went wide. He jumped up and turned to see Nora standing in the doorway with Ren and Pyrrha. He forgot to close the door.

"Nora, um, how much did you hear?" he asked nervously.

"All of it." She said with a very serious look on her face. Jaune looked away in shame and to try to think of what to say. Then he felt Nora wrap him in a gently hug. He looked at her in shock. "I never forgot, Jaune. I just didn't want to hurt you more. You hated yourself so much because of me. Because of what you did. I was so afraid that you'd change because of that and that you wouldn't be the Jaune I love." She started shaking slightly. Jaune wrapped her in a hug and she looked up at him with a watery smile and tears running down her face. "I'm so glad you didn't change. I don't know what I'd do without my Big Brother and Fearless Leader."

Jaune kissed her forehead and pulled her close. "You'll never have to find out. I'll always be here for you, Little Sister." With that, she turned her gentle hug into her patented bear hug. RWBY and the PR of JNPR just watched with smiles. After that, the eight spent time together playing games and enjoying their time before they had to get a start on their homework. Jaune got a message from Blake just before bed telling him that their mission would start after class on Friday. Jaune smiled and went to sleep. Both him and Nora were relieved that the secret they had was now out in the open. But Jaune still hoped that he could protect what was left of his friends' innocence for just a bit longer. The world was never the same without it.

* * *

 **A/N- Sorry about the lack of updates and this chapter being so short. I haven't had much time to work on this as much as I'd like. I'll make it up to you all because tomorrow I plan to put out a longer chapter. This one I've been excited to right for a while. Again, thank you all for the support and I hope you all keep enjoying it.**


	37. Night on the Town

The rest of the week flew by for Jaune and RWBY. They were sitting in their last class, which was Grimm Studies, and were listening to Port going on with another of his stories. Time seemed to be going in slow motion and Jaune was losing his mind. His nerves were already on edge and this boredom was not helping him in the slightest. Luckily, the bell sounded and the class was dismissed. RWBY made their way to their dorm while Jaune went with his team to the library. He had already told them that he was going to spend a night in town by himself to blow off some steam. They didn't ask questions, mostly because by now they all knew if Jaune didn't want to talk about something, he wouldn't. They told him to have a good time before he left them to their fun at the library. Jaune stopped by the locker rooms to grab his swords, armor and Kuroibarra.

He made his way to the dorms and knocked on RWBY's door and soon Ruby opened it. Jaune just stared at the girls. They were all wearing new outfits and they looked gorgeous in his opinion. Eventually Ruby waved her hand in front of his face and he snapped out of it. "You okay, Jaune?" She asked him.

"Yeah. Sorry about that." He said slightly embarrassed.

Yang gave him a teasing smile before she spoke, "See something you like, Hero?"

Jaune blushed slightly, "Uh, yeah. Sorry but I'm not used to seeing you girls in anything besides your battle attire and uniforms. You all look great by the way." He smiled.

The girls all blushed at that and Blake had to resist from kissing him in front of her team. "Thank you, Jaune. That means a lot." She said when she got her senses back.

"Well, since you all are dressing for the occasion, I might as well too." He smirked and walked to his dorm. "Give me five minutes." He said as he entered his dorm. He placed his swords on his desk and his armor on his bed he went to his closet to grab the clothes he got from Velvet and Coco. He put his black jeans on and attached his greaves to them before he put his belt on that he got from Weiss. He attached Kuroibarra to the back, in between his fire and wind clips, along with his scroll, between his fire and water clips. He put on the skin tight long sleeve black shirt that extended up his neck. He then wore his vambracers, rerebrace and chest plate over his shirt before he grabbed the silver hoodie to put over it all. He had it zipped only half way up so you could see the white armor on his chest along with the black shirt. He finally attached his swords to his back and made sure his gloves were on comfortably before he made his way back over to RWBY's. He knocked and Ruby opened it again and the four girls just stared at him.

Jaune smirked at them, "See something you like?" He said, imitating Yang.

The girls shook themselves from their stupors and blushed. Jaune chuckled at them before Ruby clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention. "Right! Everyone remember their roles?"

Weiss started, "You and I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem."

Blake spoke next, "The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning."

Yang followed up, "I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard."

"And I will be tagging along with Yang to make sure she doesn't get arrested or cause too much damage to the city. So, I'm babysitting." He said with a smile and Yang punched him on his arm and pouted. Everyone laughed at that.

"Great!" Ruby said with enthusiasm. "We'll meet up tonight near Yang and Jaune to go over what we found. Let's do this!"

"Yeah!" they all heard a voice coming from the window and on reflex Jaune grabbed Kuroibarra and threw it at the voice. Luckily for the person, Jaune was out of practice and it got lodged into the windowsill. They all looked to see Sun hanging upside down by his tail outside the window looking shocked.

"Damn it, Sun." Jaune said as he walked over to the window and pulled out his dagger. "You're so lucky I'm rusty." he said as he put his dagger away.

"Sorry, jeez!" he said as he flipped into the room. "Didn't think you'd react like that. So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick prick?"

"Sorry, Sun, we don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to." Ruby said.

Sun looked at Jaune with a raised eyebrow before Jaune answered the unasked question, "I found out from the get-go and refused to not be included."

Sun nodded, "Well, I'm agreeing with my blonde brother and so does Neptune." He said as he pointed his thumb out the window.

The five leant out to see Neptune standing on the ledge by the window, acting cool. "Sup?" is all he says.

"How'd you even get up here? Ruby asked.

"I have my ways. But seriously, can I come in? We're like really high up." He said nervously.

Jaune just sighed, "Don't be a baby. I jumped out of this window before and I was fine." He said this as he helped Neptune inside. They stood in a circle and Ruby decided on the new plan.

"Alright, Sun, you'll go with Blake. Since you're also a Faunus, you can back her up if things hit the fan." Sun stepped beside her and Blake didn't look happy. She gave Jaune a sideways look and Jaune just smiled with a small nod, meaning 'It's fine.' She gave her own nod and accepted the team up. "And, Neptune can go with Yang and Jaune."

"Uh, Rubes, my bike sits two." Yang said raising two fingers.

"And even though I could keep up on foot, I don't wanna burn through my supply of lightning dust just yet, Rosebud." Jaune added.

Ruby thought about that and sighed, "Guess that means Neptune can tag along with us." Weiss looked happy at this and looked at Jaune who put a fake smile on for her. "Alright, let's head out!" Ruby declared.

They all started to leave and Jaune whispered, just barely audibly, "Be careful." Blake heard him and just nodded to him.

* * *

Jaune eventually found himself on Yang's bike, seated behind her and holding onto her as she drove in and out of traffic at high speeds. He was shocked by this at first but eventually came to the conclusion that this was Yang and shouldn't be surprised at this point. He also realized this was the closest he's been to her in a while. He could smell her shampoo because of their close proximity and he could only smile. Unlike Blake, Yang had a way to just energize him when she was near. He was taken out of his thoughts when she spoke over the wind. "Going too fast for you, Hero?"

Jaune just rolled his eyes, "Yang, I literally move as fast as lightning. If anything you are too slow."

She turned slightly to look at him. "That a challenge?" she asked seriously.

Jaune just smirked, "It is."

She turned back to the road, "Better hold on tight then."

Jaune just smiled, "Yes, ma'am." Was all he said as he wrapped his arms around her stomach a bit tighter and scooted closer to leaned against her back. She smiled and blushed before she kicked it into high gear and drove even more erratic if that was even possible.

They soon made it into a ruined part of Vale and they arrived at their destination. The two got off the bike and Yang removed her helmet. "That fast enough for you?" she smirked at him.

He returned it, "Close but I'm sure you just did that so I would hold you."

She just smiled and teasingly said, "I'll never tell." She started to walk away with a noticeable sway in her hips, "Come on, my friend is in here."

Jaune shook his head slightly with a smile before following her, "And where is here?" Jaune saw two people dressed in identical black suits and hats with red sunglasses but as soon as they saw Yang they ran into the building. Jaune just raised an eyebrow. "Yang, what did you do the last time you were here?"

Yang shrugged, "Asked for information and when they were being rude, I kicked their asses." She said before she added sheepishly, "And maybe destroyed the club."

Jaune just sighed and ran a hand down his face, "I really shouldn't be surprised by your antics anymore, Sun Fire." She just smiled at him. They made it in time to see the henchmen close the doors behind them. Yang cracked her knuckles but Jaune placed his hand on her shoulder, "Allow me to get the door for you, Milady." She smiled and nodded. He grabbed Kakiri's handle with his right hand and his eyes shifted to red before he kicked the door in. He saw a number of henchmen holding guns at him and all he did was raise an eyebrow before Yang stepped forward.

"Guess who's back!" is all she shouted but no one lowered their weapons.

"Mind defining friend for me? Because if they're your friends than I must be your husband by this point." Jaune said casually and missed Yang's blush.

Soon a big guy in a suit stepped forward. "Stop, stop! Nobody shoot! Blondie, you're here. Why?"

Yang just walked forward, "You still owe me a drink." She said as she started to drag him away. Jaune just chuckled and followed her, missing the stares he got from the twins standing at the door.

The big guy was now behind the bar and Yang was in front of the bar and was handed a Strawberry Sunrise. She was sipping it and he looked to Jaune. "You want something?" he said somewhat rude.

Jaune shrugged. "Might as well. Rum and coke." He said as he put some Lien on the table. The big guy took the money and handed Jaune his drink. He took a sip and found it perfect. He soon noticed Yang looking at him with a smile as her finger traces the top of her glass. "What?"

"Didn't know you drink." she said teasingly.

"I didn't but your uncle is a bad influence. Besides, with my aura levels one drink doesn't do much." Jaune said as he took another sip.

"So, is this your boyfriend, Blondie?" The big guy asked while crossing his arms over his chest.

Yang just turned to him, "That's not any of your business. What you need to know is that if you don't tell me what I want to know, I may make an even bigger mess than last time, Junior."

Junior gulped before turning to Jaune, "Don't look at me. I'm just here to make sure she doesn't kill anyone." He looked at her, "But maiming and serious injuries are still allowed."

Yang smiled evilly and turned back to Junior, who was now sweating bullets. Jaune turned away and leaned against the bar sipping his drink. He was fine with letting Yang handling this, the old bad cop and not caring cop always works. Soon he heard a conversation from two of the henchmen further down the bar from them.

"I don't understand why the boss puts up with that bimbo." The first one said.

"He's probably getting some on the side. I mean, look at her. There's no way she hasn't been around the block once or twice." The second said in a sneer.

"True. Maybe if we pay her enough she'll give us a go." The first said and they both started laughing. That was until Jaune grabbed them by their throats before he threw them across the club and into the far wall. They fell and saw Jaune walking over, clearly angry.

"Wanna say that again? Because I'm all ears!" he shouted while cracking his knuckles. He soon saw all the other henchmen pull their guns and aim at him. "Wrong choice." Was all he said before the air around him burst into flames, making him look like some kind of demon. "Who's got the balls?" was all he asked with a sadistic smile on his face. They were all shaking now. "Thought so. Now, let me make this clear. Any of you so much as look at Sun Fire wrong and I'll have to show you what happens when I'm pissed." He said with a commanding tone as the henchmen were still shaking in their boots. He stared them down for a little while before he extinguished the flames. He walked back over to the bar. Junior was terrified and Yang was just shocked. "Has he talked yet?"

Yang just shook her head, "No. He's being difficult." She turned back to Junior with her eyes red now.

Junior was terrified of the two red eyed blondes staring him down. "I already told you everything! Torchwick hired my boys, and I guess he wasn't happy with them, which is something I can relate to!" He shouted the last part to the henchmen.

Yang just sighed and finished her drink, "Come on, Jaune." She started walking away from the bar. Jaune finished his drink before following her.

"We get everything we needed?" He asked.

"Everything we can. Hopefully the rest of the team is having better luck." The two of them were now outside and it was on the colder side. Jaune used his Semblance to create a small fireball in his hand to keep them warm. They were waiting to hear from the rest of the team. "You didn't need to do that, Jaune. I can handle myself."

"I know. But they pissed me off. They have no right to talk about you like that." He got slightly angry and the fireball got hotter and bigger before he calmed down and it returned to normal.

"Let them talk. Not like it matters what they think about me, as long as the people who matter know the truth."

"Maybe but they shouldn't talk about you when they don't know just how amazing you really are." Jaune said honestly.

Yang just smiled, "Keep this up and I'll think you've fallen for me."

Jaune didn't say anything before he took a deep breath and looked at her in the eyes. "I have." He said with as much honesty as he could.

Yang's eyes went wide and she hugged him tightly. "You, you idiot! Why haven't you told me sooner?" Jaune lost his concentration and the fireball faded out of existence.

Jaune just sighed, "Because it's complicated." Yang just looked at him confused. Jaune closed his eyes and steeled himself. He looked back to her. "Yang, you aren't the only one I've fallen in love with." Her eyes showed shock but Jaune had to continue or he'd lose his nerve. "I've fallen for you, Blake, Pyrrha and most recently, Weiss and Ruby. I didn't know what to do. I want to make you all happy but I knew that wasn't possible and eventually I'd hurt all of you. My mother found out and told me to just listen to my heart and do what it says. And it's telling me that I love you all." He turned away slightly. "And that just makes me sound so conceited."

Yang was just staring in shock but eventually she found her voice, "Do any of the others know?"

Jaune nodded, "Blake does. She knows everything and she's the one that is trying to convince me to go along with... 'it'."

"It?" Yang asked.

Jaune took another deep breath, "My mother said that even if I fell in love with and even dated multiple girls, that my family would accept it. Blake heard this and agreed to it, as crazy as that sounds." He looked back to her. "She thinks that as long as I love you all equally and treat you with respect, we could make it work."

Yang was going through a mental overload at this point, "You want a harem?" She said in disbelief.

Jaune just shrugged, "I don't know. I want you all to be happy, if I can do that and if you all are okay with that then I would agree. But, if not." He sighed, "I would let you all go and let you find someone else to be happy with."

Yang was just taking all of this in. She didn't know what to say. Jaune was always so honest, even now she could hear the sincerity in his words. He truly cared for all of them and he wanted them to be happy. But, could this actually work? Could she be okay with this? The train of thought was broken when both of their scrolls started to go off. Blake's voice came through, "Everyone! If you can hear me, we need back-" She was interrupted by Sun. "HELP! Big robot! And it's big! Really big! That Torchwick prick is in it! But not, like, it didn't eat him; he's, like, controlling it or something!"

Yang spoke up, "Where are you guys?"

Both of them turned to see Blake and Sun running through the street behind them with a Paladin in hot pursuit and Sun was shouting, "HURRY!"

Jaune just turned to Yang, "That was convenient." Yang quickly jumped on her bike and Jaune grabbed Raikiri's handle and his eyes shifted to yellow. "I'll go on ahead."

Before she could argue, Jaune took off in a bolt of lightning. Yang just muttered out, "You better be safe. We have things to discuss."

* * *

Jaune followed behind them but only caught up when they were running down the highway. Jaune went full speed past the Paladin and landed on a car in front of Sun and Blake. "I thought Yang was the one that started trouble? Not you, Kitten."

"Can we talk about this later?" Blake asked. Jaune nodded before he raised his hand into the air. He channeled all of his electricity between them before he shot a giant arc of lightning at it. The Paladin got hit and stopped for a few seconds before it started to run at them again.

Jaune was breathing hard as his eyes shifted back to normal, "Well, that didn't work." Soon the Paladin was taking blasts from above and all three of them saw Neptune jump off of an overpass and impale it with a trident. Sun quickly created two clones and sent them at the Paladin. They shattered against it and Sun jumped towards it with his bo staff, but it just spun and knocked Neptune into him. Which sent those two off the highway. Jaune just sighed. Soon Weiss jumped down from another overpass and impaled Myrtenaster into the road to create a sheet of ice. It lost its footing and slid directly at Weiss. Jaune drew Kakiri with his right and Dokiri with his left. As his eyes shifted to the respective colors, he used his aura and jumped towards it. He intercepted the Paladin before it could reach Weiss and the force pushed the two off the ramp and landed below. Jaune jumped and rolled to land beside Ruby.

Soon the rest of RWBY joined them and the Paladin moved towards them, ready to fight. "Freezer Burn!" Ruby shouted as she, Blake and Jaune jumped backwards as Weiss and Yang created a mist. Jaune was so glad Ruby told him about their team moves. The Paladin starts to fire but Ruby and Jaune jump forward to cut into it causing it to falter. "Checkmate!" Ruby shouted another command. Weiss and Blake ran forward and started attacking the sensors and weak points. Jaune decided to attack its blind spot, using both his sword with his enhanced strength. The Paladin fired off some missiles, Weiss and Blake were able to dodge them but Jaune took one due to his lessened speed but it only dazed him because of his improved endurance.

Jaune stood up and saw Weiss block an energy blast before sending a Glyph at Blake. Ruby called for another command, "Ladybug!" Ruby and Blake used their increased speed, Blake's due to the Time Dilation Glyph, to start attacking the Paladin's legs. They both jumped up and cut off its left arm. Jaune grabbed it before spinning and smashing it into it, sending the whole thing off balance. Yang jumped onto the back of it and started to unload shots into it. The Paladin ran backwards and smashed her through two pillars before embedding her in the third and punches her through it. Jaune lost it and threw the arm at it before slamming his fist onto the ground. The Paladin took the hit before it was impaled by four earth spikes through the legs.

Yang rose up with her Semblance in full effect. The Paladin threw a punch and Yang countered it with her own. The remaining arm is shattered from the force. "Bumblebee! Ice flower!" Ruby shouted. Weiss and Ruby managed to freeze the Paladin with a combo of Ice Glyphs and Crescent Rose's bullets, and along with the earth spikes, completely immobilized it. Blake, meanwhile, was spinning Yang around with Gambol Shroud. Yang gave Jaune a look and he held his hand out. She grabbed it and the two continued to gain momentum. As they were closing in, Yang let go of Gambol Shroud and the two hit it with all their strength, one with Ember Celica and the other with a fist of fire. The Paladin was sent flying and it shattered on impact with Roman falling out.

As he was getting up, dazed, he was saying, "Just go this cleaned..." he looked to see Yang fire a shot and Jaune throw a fireball. But he was saved by an ice cream colored girl, who dropped in front of them and deflected it with an umbrella. "Always a pleasure! Neo, if you would…" She curtsied with a bow and Yang charged forward to punch them, only for them to shatter and for her to get hit by the fist of another Paladin.

Jaune managed to catch her and slow them down. He could tell that her aura was low. He looked up to see this new Paladin running towards them. Quickly handing Yang to Blake before he shot forward and caught the fist it threw. He then stomped the ground and formed two stone pillars that sent it backwards. Jaune had enough at this point. He impaled his swords into the ground before he removed his sheathes from his back and used his strength to throw them. They landed in the ground about thirty feet away. He then removed his hoodie and handed it to Blake, "Get to my sheathes. That should be far enough for you girls to not get caught up in it." She looked at him confused until she understood what he meant. Blake and Weiss helped Yang to her feet and started moving away with Ruby as quickly as possible.

As soon as they were by the sheathes, Jaune focused and used what he learned from practicing Particle; he started to weave the burning fire in his aura with the crushing earth that also resided in him. The new energy formed quicker and more powerful than ever before. As the fusion was completing, he picked up his swords and combined them. A wave of scarlet energy erupted from his body, turning all the ground within twenty feet of him into molten rock. The Paladin sank slightly into it and the girls could feel the intense heat from it, even from ten feet away. Jaune stood in the middle of the molten rock, on the only patch of solid ground left. He was wielding a longsword that was a few inches longer than Hyokiri and Mokukiri but was still shorter than Jinkiri, due to Kakiri's new broadsword form. The circuits and edges were glowing scarlet and so were his eyes. "Erupt, Yogankiri!"

The Paladin regained its footing but then they all heard a masculine voice come from the robot, "Impressive, human scum. But this won't stop me! We will make you kneel to the White Fang!" It shot a volley of missiles towards him and Jaune just raised his hand, a wave of lava came up and absorbed the missiles before it solidified and exploded. Before the White Fang member could react, Jaune swung his sword upwards and sent a wave of molten rock towards it. It was hit and sent backwards and as it slowed down, Jaune stomped his foot to send up five molten rocks from the ground and sent them at the Paladin. It got bombarded before opening fire on Jaune with all of its guns. Jaune brought up another wave of lava to solidify it into a wall and shot off to the side with his aura. He started to surf on the lava by solidifying the lava below him and turning it into an impromptu surfboard. He made a series of slashes and sent crescent shaped molten rock from the ground at the White Fang member. The rock started to heat up the metal of the Paladin, warping it before the rock solidified again.

Jaune winced in pain and noticed that his sleeves were burnt up to his elbows from the intense heat and he had severe burns on his arms. 'Better wrap this up, now.' Jaune thought before he jumped with his aura and landed in front of the Paladin, he impaled Yogankiri into the ground and liquefied the ground below the Paladin and it sank up to its waist. Jaune started to slash into it, the heat of the blade melting into the metal with each slash. It punched him in the chest to try to get him away from it. But he tanked the hit but slid back a few feet. The Paladin went for a last ditch effort and tried to fire its energy blast at close range. Jaune swung Yogankiri with two hands into the ground and the lava it was stuck in erupted. The Paladin was thrown up by the force of the eruption and slammed into the ground shortly after. It was barely recognizable now, from the impact and the intense heat warping the entire thing.

Jaune tore open the cockpit and the beaten White Fang member fell out of it. He was still in uniform but he could see his wolf tail. In a ragged voice he started to speak, "Do it, human. I don't need your pity. Finish what you started!"

Jaune raised his sword with the intent to bring it down through his chest but stopped. He was beaten and his death would just be one more he'd have to live with. He lowered his arm and pointed his other hand at the molten rock, solidifying it. "No. Your life isn't worth more of my soul." Jaune stated as he was walking away. Jaune looked to see that his shirt sleeves were burnt off completely now and the burns went almost up to his shoulders. His armor was also red hot at this point and his chest plate had a huge dent in it. If not for his aura, his chest would've been crushed, going by how the armor looked. He was making his way over to RWBY and they were all shocked by his display.

But something inside of him told him to turn around and as he did he saw the White Fang member holding a rifle and aiming it at the girls behind him. The world seemed to go in slow motion. Not even hesitating, he quickly jumped to his right and swung his sword towards him. A wave of molten rock surged towards the White Fang member as he heard the shot. Jaune felt his aura shatter and the bullet tear into the left side of his chest before it exploded out of his back. Jaune landed on the ground and dropped his sword as he heard someone screaming in intense pain.

Jaune was also in a world of pain, now that his aura was completely gone. He felt something wet and warm underneath him as he rolled to his back. His vision started to go black when he heard people screaming. He turned his head to see RWBY running towards him. Whatever they were saying, he couldn't understand. But he had content smile as his world continued to grow darker, 'At least they're safe.' Was the last thing he thought as his vision went completely black.


	38. Worry

Team RWBY were in Beacon's Infirmary, sitting around one bed in particular. Jaune was laying in this bed, breathing deeply. After Jaune was shot, all of them had to pump as much of their aura into him to slow down the bleeding enough to get him to Beacon. Afterwards, it took the doctors hours to operate on him, two blood transfusions and three aura transfusions were used before he finally stabilized. These girls never left for a moment. While he was being operated on, they were in the waiting room and ever since he was moved to this bed, this is where they were. They all knew he'd be fine but seeing him in this condition made them all worried.

He was wearing a gown but they could clearly see the bandages wrapped from his fingers to halfway up his upper arms, more bandages were wrapped tightly around his upper chest. Jaune had severe burns up his arms, along with three cracked ribs from the punch he got from the Paladin. Not to mention the gunshot wound. They all somewhat blamed themselves for what happened to him and none of them wanted to think what could've happened if he didn't come with them. Ruby had been crying the entire time she was there, seeing her best friend in this condition was too much for her. The other three girls were trying their best to help her but were still just as hurt. Weiss was trying to hide her pain but she couldn't imagine what she'd do without him. He'd quickly turned to someone she trusted and cared for so much. Yang was trying to be strong for her sister but she was so scared. Having Jaune confess to her made her so happy, even if the rest of that conversation was shocking. Thinking of him not being the way he was before was too much. Blake was probably the most concerned out of the four. Here was the man she had fallen for and had loved more than any other before or ever thought possible. What was she supposed to do when he was this hurt? She was wearing the hoodie she had given him, refusing to take it off until she knew he was okay.

The rest of his team showed up not long after Jaune was brought in. Pyrrha was worried sick and livid at RWBY, while Nora was just as worried and was close to tears on a few occasions. Ren was worried but kept himself busy by trying to comfort his teammates. After knowing Jaune would be okay, they decided to return his weapons and armor to his locker for him. Jaune wasn't going to be able to fight for quite some time. Also, Ren thought it'd be best to get Pyrrha away from RWBY for a bit before she did something she would regret.

Weiss and the others also convinced Ruby to go with Weiss to the cafeteria to get something to eat. None of them had eaten since the day before. This left Blake and Yang alone with him. Blake was just looking at his face while gently stroking his hair. Yang was looking at the two and couldn't help smiling. "So, you and Jaune, huh?"

Blake froze for a second before she continued stroking his hair, "He told you?"

"Yeah. Right before everything happened." She said as she remembered what happened less than a day ago.

"How much did he tell you?" Blake asked, wanting to know how much she could talk about.

"Just that he loves me and you. Along with Ruby, Weiss and Pyrrha. That you two are together and that you're okay with him being with us as well."

Blake chuckled weakly, "That pretty much covers it."

"I'm still kinda shocked that you'd be okay with sharing him. You could have him to yourself."

"Yeah. I could but I see the way he looks at the rest of you and it's the same way he looks at me." She had a small smile. "He genuinely loves all of us. Not because of social status or physical appearance but because of who we are. Besides, I know you all feel the same and I don't want to be happy if it just makes my closest friends hurt. We agree on that."

Yang at this point had her hair over her shoulder and was playing with it nervously, "So, if I were to accept his offer…. you wouldn't be mad?"

Blake stopped and looked at Yang. She just smiled a bit. "Not as long you respect the fact that him and I are also a couple."

Yang smiled slightly, "This sounded crazy last night. Hell, it's still crazy." She looked at Jaune, "But after everything, I just wanna be with him. To show him how much I love him and see just how much he loves me."

"Trust me. It's amazing." Blake said, smiling down at her boyfriend.

Yang gave a teasing smile, "So, what have you two been doing in secret?"

Blake blushed slightly, "Nothing like that. We usual find somewhere quiet and private to read." She started smiling, "He'll hold me close to him so I can listen to his heartbeat and feel his warmth. I'll remove my bow and he'll gently scratch my ears and I'll feel like I'm in heaven." She blushed a deeper shade. "Once or twice, he's kissed my ears and it makes me feel so happy." She sighed happily.

Yang was listening the entire time with a smile, "Sounds amazing. What about the kissing?" she added teasingly.

Blake just grinned at her, "You have no idea. When he kisses me, I can clearly feel how much he cares for me. And before you ask, yes we've made out a few times. Again, I can just feel how much he loves me. Plus, he makes me feel like I just want to live in those moments forever."

"That good, huh?" She looked at Jaune with a smile before turning to Blake, "With all of that, how are you not gonna be jealous if you see him kissing me or one of the others?"

Blake thought about it for a while, "I think, I'll be jealous at first. But I'll just have to remind myself that he loves me just as much."

"That's mature of you." They were quiet for a while. "This is still crazy." Yang said trying not to laugh.

Blake just nodded, "Yes it is but I think it'll be fine."

* * *

Jaune was surrounded by darkness. He couldn't see or hear but he could feel how cold he was. "Where am I? What happened?" He was just floating in this abyss, not sure of anything. Soon he started to hear voices, two of them. They sounded so familiar but he couldn't place them. He tried to focus on them and soon he could feel warmth and something soft around him. The voices started to get louder and he recognized them as Blake's and Yang's. He tried to get to them anyway he could, the darkness soon started to fade.

Jaune's eyes slowly opened to look up at the infirmary's ceiling, again. He groaned, "How the hell did I end up here?" he said in a raspy voice.

Before he knew it, he heard two people shouting. "Jaune!" Then he felt something on his lips. He looked to see Blake kissing him with small tears. He soon closed his eyes and returned it. Soon they pulled apart. "Wow. What'd I do to deserve that, Kitten?" he asked.

She just wiped her tears away and smiled, "Just being you."

He smiled and soon was wrapped in a hug. He saw blonde hair and knew it was Yang, "It's good to know you're okay." She said with a slightly shaky voice.

His smile grew a bit and he wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you, Sun Fire." She soon pulled away and gave him a look he's rarely seen but he got distracted when he saw his arms. He held them out in front of him, "What happened?" he asked.

Yang and Blake exchange looks before Blake spoke, "You don't remember last night?"

"Last night?" he asked before the memories from night before flooded into his head. "Right. I took a bullet, didn't I?" He started to sit up before hissed in pain and his hand gripped his chest. Blake and Yang were by his side trying to help him but he held up his hand, "I'm okay. Just need to take it slower." He sat up slowly. "So, how bad was I?"

"The doctors had to operate on you for a few hours. You needed two blood transfusions and three aura transfusions. You have severe burns on your arms, three cracked ribs and the bullet wound. They said it'll be a while before you're okay." Blake told him.

Jaune thought about it, "That makes sense. The burns should be gone in a day or so. But with my aura, my ribs and bullet wound might only take a week or so." He soon remembered something, "The White Fang member, did I...?"

Yang looked away slightly and Blake just looked down slightly, "Yes." She said sadly.

Jaune closed his eyes and placed a hand over them. He took a deep breath before he exhaled. "Thought so." He took his hand away. "There really wasn't a way around it and if I didn't, things coulda gotten worse." He looked up at the ceiling again.

Before the conversation could continue, the door opened to reveal Ruby and Weiss. They just stared at Jaune until Ruby squealed and used her Semblance to get to his bed. She stopped just shy of the bed and looked like she was restraining herself. Jaune smiled when he figured out what was going on. "What are you doing?"

"What?" she asked as she tilted her head slightly.

"I'm in the infirmary and I don't get a hug? That's just wrong."

"You sure, Jaune? I don't wanna hurt you." She said, barley containing herself.

"I'm a big boy. I can handle it." He held open his arms to her, "Now give me a hug, Rosebud."

Without further ado, Ruby hugged Jaune and buried her face into his shoulder, "I'm so glad you're okay!" She said. Jaune just smiled wider and retuned her hug. When the broke apart, Weiss was already by his bed with a small smile.

"Hey." He said with a smile. She smiled more and leaned down to hug him gently. Jaune was shocked by this but soon wrapped one of his arms around her. "Thank you, Snow Angel."

She pulled back a bit, "You deserve more than a hug for what you did last night." She gently kissed him on the cheek before she stepped back with a blush. "So, thank you, Jaune."

Everyone was shocked because of that. Soon Jaune smiled at her, "Anytime." He said this while fiddling with the bandages on his arms.

"How did you get those burns with your aura still intact?" Weiss asked, noticing what he was doing.

"My aura caused it. Lava's Elemental Feedback burns my skin from the intense heat. The longer I use it, the worse and further they spread. These aren't the worse I've gotten, so my aura should be able to heal it within a day or so. By the way, how long was I out for?" he asked.

"Just over twelve hours." Weiss answered.

"Wow. Less than I expected." He said before he started to get out of the bed, groaning slightly in pain.

"What are you doing?" Blake asked worried.

"Getting out of bed. I've been here long enough." He said standing.

"That's crazy. You need rest." Weiss added.

"I was resting. Trust me, I know my body better than anyone. Since I'm awake, I should be fine as long as I don't push myself." They all just looked at him worried and he tried to ignore the looks. He noticed some of his clothes next to the bed. He started to take off his gown. "I'm gonna change, so either turn away or be prepared." He said with a smirk as he removed it.

All the girls blushed at that. Weiss and Ruby quickly turned their backs to him, Ruby went as far to put her hands over her eyes. Blake just kept looking, they were dating and it wasn't like he was naked. Yang looked away but snuck a few looks here and there. Jaune threw on his dark blue jeans and his black t-shirt. It hurt slightly to put on the shirt but he was dealing with the pain. As soon as he did that, he sat down on the bed and started to put on his boots. "I'm decent now." He told Weiss and Ruby. They turned and still had slight blushes.

"How are you okay with just stripping like that?" Weiss asked him.

Jaune shrugged, "It's not like I was naked. Besides, you've all seen me shirtless anyways. So all you got to see was my legs but only a little bit more than when I wear shorts." He stood back up and saw Blake taking off his silver hoodie before handing it to him. "Thank you for taking care of this." He said happily as he slipped it on, he didn't bother to zip it up.

At that point, the door opened again to reveal NPR. Jaune smiled and waved slightly. Nora ran at Jaune and tackled him, "Jaune!" she shouted as she was hugging him tightly on the ground.

"Why?" Jaune groaned out as he was on the floor. Soon Ren was there to pull Nora off of him and help him to his feet. He gave him a quick look before he nodded, knowing he was at least somewhat better now.

Pyrrha was by his side looking him up and down, "Are you okay, Jaune? Should you be out of bed?" She asked frantically.

"I'm fine, Pyrrha. I'm a little sore but that'll go away." He said with a small smile.

"A little sore? Jaune, you have serious burns, cracked ribs and were shot!" She said just below a shout.

Jaune nodded, "I was there. The burns I knew were going to happen, that's the Elemental Feedback of Lava. The ribs and the gunshot however." Jaune shrugged as much as his ribs would allow. "They were unavoidable."

"Unavoidable!? Jaune, you almost died!" Pyrrha shouted. She turned her gaze to RWBY. "If it wasn't for them…" she started.

"That's enough, Pyrrha." Jaune said with a commanding tone. "They were not the ones that shot me and if I didn't do what I did, we'd probably be having a different conversation with one of them in worse condition or possibly dead." Realization hit Pyrrha with that. "No matter what happens to me, I'll risk everything to save someone I care for. Even if it costs me my life." Everyone, besides Ren and Nora, was shocked by this and Jaune walked to the door before he stopped. He turned to them. "Almost everything good in my life seems to get taken away by this world. But, I refuse to lose you seven. No matter what pain I have to go through." He said with a sad smile before he left the room and left the rest to their thoughts.

He was walking around the courtyard now. He wasn't mad at any of them but them constantly worrying about him wouldn't do them or him any good. They needed some space right now. Although, he had no idea on what he was going to do right now. Training and working his Semblance were out of the question. Plus, they all knew his usual hiding places. "Jaune! Dude!" he turned to see Sun and Neptune running towards him.

He raised a hand to them. "Hey, guys. You two made it out alright then. Last time I saw you, you got knocked off the highway by that robot."

"Yeah. We survived the fall without a scratch. We thought you guys would manage without us so we stopped by a noodle stand we found. Best noodles ever." Sun said cheerily.

"What happened though? We haven't seen you guys at all when we came back. This is the first time we've seen any of you." Neptune asked.

Jaune shrugged slightly. "Yeah. We've been in the infirmary."

"Wait, did any of RWBY get hurt?" Sun asked concerned.

Jaune shook his head, "No. There fine. I was the one that needed medical attention."

They soon noticed the bandages on his hands and some of the ones sticking above the top of his shirt. "Dude, what the hell happened to you?" Sun asked.

"Just some burns on my arms. Along with a few cracked ribs from a punch from the robot and a bullet wound from the White Fang inside of it." He answered offhandedly. The two were just staring wide eyed.

"How are you walking around right now?" Sun asked amazed.

"Should you even be out of the infirmary?" Neptune asked with the same awe.

"I'm too stubborn to stay dead and my aura helps with a lot. Large reservoirs of aura and accelerated healing can really help, that's why the Arc family is awesome." He said with a smirk. "And probably not but I hate infirmaries and hospitals, so much. So, I left before anyone knew otherwise. And now saying that, I think I should head to Vale before someone drags me back there. Wanna hang?"

The two of them looked at each other and followed him to the nearest airship. On the way down, Jaune gave them details on what happened during the fight. They were just amazed that he took down another of the Paladin's single handily. And they were even further shocked when they heard that he jumped in front of a bullet meant for someone on RWBY. They were getting off the airship when Sun whistled, "Jaune, you are by far the most badass person I know."

Jaune waved it off, "Not really. I just didn't wanna risk anyone on RWBY getting hurt and taking the bullet was just instinctual."

"You just naturally risk your life on reflex?" Neptune asked in shock.

Jaune sighed, "I'll give you the short story but, yeah. I've lost a lot of people I cared for in my life. So now, if there is anything I can do to save the people I have left, I won't hesitate to do it."

"Damn, now I feel bad that we didn't come help out." Sun said guiltily.

"Don't worry about it. I probably would've done the same thing if you guys were there or not."

"Wish we could make it up to you though." Neptune added.

They all heard Jaune's stomach growl loudly. They all looked at each other before Jaune laughed. "Well if you take me to that noodle stand, we'll call it even. I haven't eaten since before we left yesterday."

They took him there and Jaune ordered the biggest bowl of noodles you could imagine. He ate the bowl ravenously. Sun and Neptune just laughed at him. As soon as he was done, he asked for a second bowl followed by a third to Sun and Neptune's shock. As he finished the third helping, he burped and soon had a toothpick in his mouth. "Well, I have to say, those were definitely the best noodles ever." He said with a content smile.

"Jaune?" He turned to Sun. "How did you manage to eat that much?"

"Well, I haven't eaten since yesterday and my aura has been working overtime to try and fix the damage done to my body. So, I had to eat a lot more than normal to replenish myself. Normally, one of these would've been enough." He commented as he placed lien on the table for his meal. They soon headed back to Beacon. On the airship, Jaune felt his motion sickness coming back but it was very weak compared to the usual. Either he was getting used to flying or he was just too weak to puke his guts out. He chuckled slightly at the latter.

When they got back to Beacon, it was already dark and they decided to call it a night. Jaune started to make his way to his dorm. On the way he passed the fountain and found Yang sitting on it, waiting for him. Jaune sighed and sat down beside her. "Shoulda known one of you would be waiting for me."

Yang just gave him a small smile, "Well, you did disappear and we couldn't contact you."

Jaune shrugged, "You guys never gave me back my scroll."

"Got me there. So, where did you head off to?"

"I ran into Sun and Neptune. We hung out downtown and they took me to a noodle stand. Just kinda relaxed. I thought it'd be best to give you all some space for a while. Let you calm down a bit."

"That was probably for the best. Pyrrha has calmed down and has apologized profusely for what she said." Yang informed him and he nodded in response. They were quiet for a while before she broke the silence. "So, besides giving us space, why did you leave?"

"I appreciate the fact that you guys were worried about me but the whole thing reminded me of my past." He said this as he ran his hand through his hair. "My family acted very similar when I got hurt all those years ago. I was slightly worried that history was repeating itself. Crazy as that sounds."

Jaune then felt something in his hand and looked down to see Yang holding it with her own. He looked back up to her. "That's understandable. But could you blame us? You almost died, Jaune."

He nodded weakly, "I know. I won't apologize though."

"I'm not asking you to. But it was kinda crappy to drop a bomb on me like that and almost die before I can give you an answer."

Jaune blushed slightly, "Right. So, um, what do you think?" he turned to her nervously. She leant in and kissed him. Jaune's eyes were wide before he leant into the kiss and returned the pressure to her hand. They ended the kiss and just smiled at each other.

"You almost dying on me, made me realize just how much I care for you. And scared me to death to think that I could never tell you or truly know how you felt about me. So if you think you can handle me and Blake, we can give this a shot." She gave him a wink and a loving smile.

Jaune chuckled, "I guess I have no choice then." He gave her the same smile and they kissed again. Soon Yang wrapped her arms around his neck and started to run her tongue along his lips. Jaune smiled before he wrapped his arms around her back and joined her tongue in its endeavor. The kiss was hot and heavy but neither complained. After a few minutes the two broke apart and were breathing heavily. Jaune leant in and gave her a gentle kiss to her neck, which made her shiver. They smiled at each other before they got up and made their way to the dorms. Yang had wrapped her left arm around Jaune's right arm and had their fingers intertwined. She had her head resting on his shoulder and they both wore very happy smiles.

When they made it to their rooms they looked into each other's eyes before they kissed again, this one chaste. When they separated, Jaune told her what he thought with a smile. "I love you, Yang."

She gave him the same smile, "I love you, Jaune."

They bid the other a good night before retiring for the night. Jaune was still shocked that now he had two of the most gorgeous girls he had ever met as girlfriends but he was never happier.


	39. What Weighs on the Soul and Mind

Jaune woke up in a panic before he hissed in pain. He gently grabbed his ribs as he tried to get his breathing and heartrate back to normal. He was covered in sweat, again. He had just woken up from yet another nightmare. This one was worse than the rest. He was breathing raggedly until he heard Pyrrha in the bed next to him shift and speak to him, "Jaune? Are you alright?" she asked tiredly.

Jaune looked at her and tried to speak calmly, "Yeah. Sorry I woke you, Pyrrha."

She slowly shook her head, "It's fine. Are your injuries bothering you?" she asked, concerned as she sat up.

Jaune shook his head, "No, my ribs just ached when I sat up too quickly. Just another nightmare."

"Another?" she asked.

Jaune's tired mind caught up to his mouth and he cursed internally. The only one who knew about his nightmares was Blake and even she didn't know how bad it was. He sighed, "Yeah. I've been having some intense nightmares lately. They're happening more frequently and they are getting worse." He said as he looked down.

He felt Pyrrha sit down next to him and lay a hand on his back. She gently started to rub it up and down, "Do you want to talk about it?"

He thought about it for a bit but soon gave in, "They all start the same. I'm surrounded by darkness, until I see red eyes all around me and Grimm just come for me. I'm able to hold them off but I hear someone calling for me in the distance. I try to reach the voice but the Grimm just keep coming. No matter what I do, I can't seem to move fast enough. I hear a scream and that's when I finally reach the person. But, it's too late. At first, it was just Mother. But now." He takes a deep breath to calm himself. "Ren and Nora are with her. And recently you, Ruby, Blake, Yang and Weiss are there too. And the pain only ends when the same Beowolf that gave me my scar, bites into my throat."

He was just staring at the ground until Pyrrha gently wrapped him in a hug. She rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Jaune. I wish there was a way for me to help you stop this." She said with as much care as she could put into her words.

Jaune gently wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled he closer. "You're doing more than enough right now. Thank you." She nodded into his shoulder and they sat like that for a while. They soon let each other go and Jaune went to the bathroom to take an early shower. As the water was heating up, he was taking off the bandages from his arms. The burns were gone now, like he knew they would. He threw the bandages away and slowly removed his tank top to try to not irritate his ribs. He threw it into the hamper and started undoing the bandages on his chest. He threw them away as well and could now finally see the damage. There was a huge bruise on the left side of his chest right above the ribs that were most likely cracked. But the sight that drew his attention were the stitches just above his heart. The bullet wound would definitely leave a scar. He turned around and looked at his back in the mirror. On his left shoulder blade was the exit wound, twice as big as the entry wound and had many more stitches. 'No wonder why they were worried.' He thought.

He soon got undressed and got in the shower. The hot water felt amazing on his body, especially on his ribs. He started cleaning himself, being extra careful to not pull the stitches. Soon he got out and started to dry himself, taking as much care as before with the stitches. He got dressed in his usual clothes besides his shirt and left the bathroom. He saw that Nora and Ren were still sleeping. Pyrrha was sitting on her bed and looked up at him. She saw the stitches and bruise and frowned. She held out her hand to show him a fresh roll of bandages. "Want me to do them?" she asked.

Jaune nodded, "That would help." He said with a small smile. He sat down on her bed and she sat behind him and started to bandage his chest. He could feel her hands gently brushing over his back and chest. He blushed slightly and smiled.

Meanwhile, she was also blushing. She got used to seeing Jaune shirtless but actually getting to feel his toned body was something else entirely. Soon she was done with her task, "Are they too tight?"

Jaune shook his head, "No, they're perfect." She smiled and slowly started to remove her hands from his chest. She finished them in the front so it'd be easier for Jaune to remove them later. Jaune gently put his hand over her left hand that was over his heart to stop her. "I'm sorry I scared you, Pyrrha."

She simply shook her head. "It's okay, Jaune. I'm sorry for how I acted. I was just scared and worried for you." She said sadly.

Jaune was gently caressing her hand, "You had every right to be worried. I'd probably act the same if I found out you were in a similar position. Plus, I did lie to you guys. Again, sorry for that but I just didn't want to put you guys in unnecessary trouble."

"I know. But please be more careful." She begged him as she gently hugged him from behind. "I couldn't imagine what I'd do if anything happening to you."

Jaune gently squeezed her hand. "I'll try. But don't worry, Pyr. You'll never lose me. I swear on my life."

She gently rested her chin on his right shoulder, "And an Arc never goes back on his word." She finished his thought for him with a smile.

Jaune smiled and gently rested his head against her's, "You know it." The two just sat there like that, enjoying the presence of their partner. Until they saw a flash coming from the other side of the room. They turned to see Nora on her bed with her scroll out. "Cute!" was all she said.

The two blushed and Pyrrha accidentally shoved Jaune onto the floor. She soon realized her mistake. "I'm sorry!" she gave her trademark apology.

Jaune just laid on the floor and sighed before turning to Nora, "Do I need to say it?" he asked.

She just shook her head, "Nope, I know. Do not send it around the school." She said cheerfully and Jaune just sighed. It was the best he could do. Though Pyrrha was soon chasing Nora around the room, trying to get her scroll from her. The two eventually woke up Ren, when Nora jumped off of him. Jaune put on his black shirt along with his silver hoodie before he left the dorm. He leaned against the door and just waited for the chaos to settle. He wouldn't get between Nora and Pyrrha when he was a hundred percent, no way he'd try it now.

RWBY's door opened and out stepped a half asleep Yang. She stumbled over to the door and tried to knock on it but with Jaune there, she gently rapped her knuckles onto his chest. She looked closer with a sleepy expression before she looked up to Jaune's face, who was smiling at her. "Morning, Sun Fire." Her eyes went wide at that. Her boyfriend was looking at her without makeup and her hair was a mess. She was about to run to her room and shut the door to hide. But Jaune wrapped her in a hug and pulled her close before he kissed her. Her eyes soon closed and she returned the kiss. They broke apart and they just looked into each other's eyes. "You look beautiful." He told her.

She snorted at that, "That's a lie. I look like a mess and I have no makeup on."

Jaune gently caressed her cheek, "Maybe but you're still Yang, right? And Yang is always beautiful in my eyes." He said with his normal blunt honestly.

Yang leant into his touch and smiled, "Didn't realize I was that perfect to you." She said before she leant closer to him and pushed him more against the door. "If you weren't still hurt, I would be tempted to show you how much I love you."

Jaune just smiled, "We just got together, Yang. Don't you think that would be going too fast?"

"Maybe. But I trust you and know you wouldn't leave me afterwards." She said genuinely.

"I'd have to be braindead to do something stupid like that." He leant in and kissed her again. As they kissed he gently started to stroke her hair. Yang moaned happily at that. Jaune was so gentle with her hair, whether it was because she took such pride in or he just loved it that much, she didn't know. Or cared. They broke apart again and Jaune couldn't hear anything from his dorm room, "I guess things have calmed down in there. I should check on them." He said and Yang looked disappointed. He gave her one last light kiss. "We'll have time later, I promise."

She smiled, "We better. You dated Blake about a week before me, we got a lot to make up for." She got off of him and winked before she went back to her room. Jaune just sighed before he went to check on the damage to the room. That was until his scroll went off. He looked and saw that he was being summoned to Ozpin's office. He was wondering what it was about but shrugged. He opened the door and saw his partner and honorary sister on either side of the room with the weapons pointed at each other; Milo in rifle mode and Magnhild in its grenade launcher mode. Ren was hiding in the bathroom currently and the two were waiting for the other to act first. Jaune sighed before he whistled to get their attention.

"I just got summoned to Ozpin's office. For what, I don't know. So, I'll be back later." He went to close the door before he reopened it, "Oh. And if you two destroy the room, I will not save you from Goodwitch's fury." He said before he shut the door and made his way to the Headmaster office.

* * *

He was leaning against the back of the elevator, waiting to get to the top of the tower. Soon it opened to show Ozpin sitting at his desk with Goodwitch on one side of the desk and a man in a white suit on the other. He didn't recognize him but decided he'd find out soon enough. He made his way over to the desk, "You wished to see me, sir?" he asked.

"Ah, Mr. Arc. Thank you for coming. I hope I didn't wake you." Ozpin said to him.

Jaune shook his head, "No, sir. I'm an early riser." By this point he was standing in front of the desk.

"Good to know." Ozpin said before he gestured to the other man in the room, "Let me introduce you, this is General James Ironwood. Headmaster of Atlas Academy."

Jaune held out his hand, "A pleasure to meet you, sir."

Ironwood took his hand, "I've heard a lot of good things about you from Ozpin. Apparently, he expects a lot from you." He said before he let go of his hand.

Jaune looked at Ozpin for a second before he returned his gaze back to the General, "I'll try to live up to his expectations." He then turned to Ozpin, "Not to be rude, sir, but what did you wanna see me about?"

Ozpin took on a slightly more serious look, "Right, we'd all like to hear about what happened to you that lead to the condition you are in now."

Jaune froze slightly before his mind caught up. 'I'm not going to throw the girls under the bus. I'll leave out as many details as possible and hopefully they won't call me out on anything.' he thought. He shrugged, "Sure. I went out Friday with Yang to enjoy a night on the town. We were enjoying ourselves when we got a call from Blake. She and a friend of ours, Sun, apparently got attacked by some kinda giant robot."

"Paladin." Ironwood interrupted him.

Jaune looked at him, "Excuse me?"

"The robot is known as a Paladin. It's an Atlas prototype."

"Okay?" Jaune wasn't sure what that was about. "They were being chased by a Paladin. They called for her team and myself to give them a hand. We soon all converged onto it and started to fight. We managed to get it off of the highway and with the combined efforts of Team RWBY and myself, we stopped it. That's when Torchwick fell out of the thing."

"Roman Torchwick?" Goodwitch asked. "How did a criminal like him get his hands on advance Atlas technology?"

Jaune shrugged, "I have no idea. I was more worried about trying to stop him. Before we knew it, a shorter girl, Neo I think he called her, showed up and got him out of there. That's when the second Paladin showed up. We were all exhausted and Yang took a pretty bad hit. I told Team RWBY to retreat so I could deal with it myself."

"You're trying to tell me; you singlehandedly took down a Paladin when it took the five of you to take down the first?" Ironwood asked. "You certainly think highly of yourself."

Jaune just looked at him, "I am telling you the truth." He said completely serious. "I knew more about the Paladin after our first encounter and I could use my more dangerous abilities without worrying about harming my friends."

Ironwood was taken aback by this, "Dangerous abilities?"

Jaune ran a hand through his hair, "My Semblance allows me to manipulate the five basic elements. I can control two simultaneously or even combine them together to create a more powerful element. But, those elements are a double edged sword. That's why I had burns on my arms for the last day."

Ironwood looked to Ozpin for confirmation and he just nodded. He turned back to Jaune, "Impressive. But that leaves the question of why you would risk that much instead of trying to come up with another plan?"

"Myself getting hurt from the fight and by my own power is by far the better option. Rather than have us all fight and have someone on RWBY get hurt or worse." Jaune replied.

"You must've had a lot of faith that you'd survive then." Ironwood stated.

"No. Just that I'd risk my life before I would even consider risking anyone I cared for." He took a deep breath and continued before the general could interrupt him again. "The battle was hard. I took a punch from the Paladin, but thanks to my aura and armor I came out of it with only a few cracked ribs. After the Paladin was destroyed, I opened the cockpit to find a White Fang piloting it. I thought the fight was over and left him alive." He turned away slightly, "That proved to be the wrong decision. He pulled out a rifle and had it aimed on one of the girls. I jumped into the path of the bullet and sent an attack at the Faunus. It killed him and the bullet tore through my aura and chest. After that, I blacked out and awoke in the infirmary."

The two Huntsmen and the Huntress just looked at him. "Mr. Arc, are you sure that you killed the Faunus?" Goodwitch asked concerned.

Jaune nodded, "Blake confirmed it."

"Damn." Ironwood cursed, "We could've tried to get info out of him."

"Sorry. I acted out of reflex." Jaune said apologetically.

"It's your reflex to kill people?" Ironwood asked heatedly.

Jaune just glared at him, "When that piece of shit tries to kill my friends, yes." Jaune replied with the same amount of heat.

"Mr. Arc! Language!" Goodwitch reprimanded him. They both ignored her.

"Oh, so you think you have the right to choose who lives and dies?!" Ironwood yelled.

Jaune's anger peaked, "Huntsmen and Huntresses aren't saints! They are tasked to kill people as well as Grimm! So, don't try to act all high and mighty, General, you've probably have more than your fair share of blood on your hands being both a General and a Huntsman!"

"You'd be wise to watch your tone, boy!" he threatened.

"Or what?!" he challenged. "You know what, fuck the apology! I don't regret killing that bastard! He tried to kill someone I care for. If that makes me a monster, then so be it! I rather that than to be thought of as an ally by a General that somehow lost prototype technology to a thief and a terrorist group that almost used it to kill innocent people!" Jaune's aura started to flare from his anger.

"Enough." Said a stern voice plus the sound of a cane hitting the floor. Both turned to Ozpin and he was not happy. Jaune managed to calm himself down along with Ironwood who straightened his tie. "You've got what you needed, right, James?"

"Yes, I believe I did. Thank you for your time." Ironwood said. "I'll take my leave." He started to make his way to the elevator before he heard Jaune.

"General." He turned and saw Jaune bowing his head, "I'm sorry for yelling. I was out of line."

He looked at him before he sighed, "No need to apologize. I was out of line myself. Let's just let bygones be bygones." He says as he enters the elevator.

Jaune raised his head and looked back to Ozpin and Goodwitch. "Was that all you needed, Professor?"

"No. One last thing. How are you feeling? Not physically but emotionally." He asked with concern.

Jaune looked away slightly, "I'm dealing with it. That wasn't the first time I've had to kill someone if I'm being honest. I just rationalize it that if I didn't kill him then it could've easily been someone I care for or even love. It does make it a bit easier to deal with but I'll never get used to it. Each one still weighs on me a bit but I'd rather deal with this than lose someone again." He said sadly.

The two just look at him sadly, "If you ever need to talk, Jaune, you can come to me or Glynda. So please, don't hesitate." Ozpin says.

Jaune looks up at them, "I will, Professor. Thank you." He says with a small smile.

Ozpin nodded, "Why don't you go spend your Sunday with your team and friends. I believe you deserve it."

Jaune nodded and made his way to the elevator. On the way down he couldn't wait to be with his friends. He really needs it after everything that he just went through. With what happened on Friday night and having to relive it so soon.


	40. Heritage and Repairs

Jaune made his way to the cafeteria to find all his friends sitting at their usual table. He couldn't help but smile at that. No matter what darkness he may submerge his soul into, these seven lights would always pull him from the abyss. He gave them all loving looks before he made his way to grab himself some breakfast and coffee before joining them. "Hey guys." He said cheerfully as he sat down.

They all turned to him and returned the greetings and Ruby brought up a point that they were all wondering about. "How are you doing, Jaune?"

Jaune gave her a smile and looked to everyone when he spoke, "I'm fine guys. The burns are gone and everything else should be healed by the end of the week."

They were all going to accept it until Nora stood behind Jaune and turned him around to look him in the eyes, "Are you being truthful this time?" She asked.

Jaune raised an eyebrow, "Yes, Little Sister. My healing should work faster now that my aura is back to a hundred percent." He said with a smile. Nora kept staring into Jaune's eyes with an analytical stare until she smiled and nodded. She let him go and sat back in her usual spot beside Ren. Jaune just chuckled and drank from his coffee.

"Hey, Jaune? How do you know how fast you'll heal?" asked Ruby.

"Easy, I know the extension of my healing after years of pushing myself to the limit on an almost daily basis. Plus, it's part of being an Arc." He said easily.

Everyone just stared at him until his favorite Faunus spoke up, "What does that mean?"

"Well, the Arc family is very similar to the Schnee family in the area of heritage." Jaune started.

"How do you know about my family?" Weiss asked.

"I did some research after we got to know each other. Was a bit curious about my Snow Angel." He said with his usual smile. Weiss blushed from being referred to as _his_ Snow Angel. "Anyways, like how people born into the Schnee family are born with white hair, the Arcs are born with blonde hair and that's where the fun comes from." He said with a smirk.

"I know blondes are awesome but what does that have to do with you healing?" asked his fellow blonde.

"Was getting to that, Sun Fire. You see in the Arc family; the blonder hair you have, the more aura you have. And because I'm the only pure blonde between my siblings, I have the most aura within our generation. And more aura means faster healing." he said.

They all just looked at him for a bit, "I never knew that someone's hair could mean so much." Pyrrha said stunned.

Jaune shrugged, "It's just an Arc thing. Actually, it's theorized that the longer an uninterrupted fully blonde line goes, the more powerful each corresponding Arc child will become. But there's no proof of that."

"So, if that was true, how powerful would you be, Hero?" Yang asked, her curiosity intrigued.

Jaune looked up and thought about it while scratching his chin, "Hmmmm. Well, I have more aura than my father and he is as blonde as I am. My grandfather was also blonde and my father definitely had more aura than him. Although, my great-grandfather wasn't purely blonde so I'm only the third consecutive blonde. That would mean I should have three times whatever the multiplier is for consecutive blonde offspring. Again only a theory." He said drinking his coffee.

"What do you mean by 'pure blonde'?" Weiss asked.

"The Arcs have been around for a long time so a lot of different traits have been mixed in. So sometimes those traits randomly pop up. Each one of my sisters are examples of that." He chuckled. "And some of them are still annoyed by it."

"So, can we finally hear about these sisters of yours. You've haven't told us much about them." Blake asked.

"Sure, why not. Well my oldest sisters are twins and are full-fledged Huntresses. Blanc and Noir are pretty much identical in every regard except the lock of hair each have that 'disturbs' their full blonde hair, so they have the most aura after me. Blanc has a lock of white and Noir has a lock of black. They are on the same team and work together all the time. They both are very polite and care deeply for all of us. Honestly, we gave them the title of being 'auxiliary parents' and they hate it so much." Jaune chuckled.

"They do." Ren deadpanned. "Last time we were home, Nora and I had to stop them from killing the rest of their siblings because of the excessive nickname." Ren said with a tired voice and a slight glare at Jaune.

He merely shrugged, "Blame Rouge. She got me amped up." He said not sounding a bit sorry. "Rouge is my next eldest sister. She actually graduated from Shade last year and is starting her career as a Huntress. She actually has a personality a lot like Yang, maybe that's why we get along so well." He said to Yang and gave her a subtle wink. She just gave him a smirk. "Anyways she has hair similar to Ruby, except instead of black it's blonde plus the red reaches about half way up her hair instead of just the tips. So, her aura is probably third after myself, Noir and Blanc."

"Who's the next eldest?" Ruby asked, getting excited about learning more about her best friend's family.

"That would be me. But my next sister is my first younger sibling, Olive, she's actually attending a Primary Combat School to get ready to be a Huntress as well. She's planning on attending Beacon like me and if she works hard, should be attending in our third year here. She's very quiet but not in a negative way, she only speaks when she has to or wants to. She has blonde hair with green chunking highlights. She probably has as much aura as Rouge if I'm honest."

"So, what are you gonna do about her dating?" Yang asked teasingly.

Jaune but a smile on his face with no happiness in it, "She already has started and nothing. I'm just gonna make it clear to any guy to treat her right or we'll have to have a 'conversation'." Everyone shuddered at that.

"Anyways, after Olive are the second twins, Bleu and Rose. Those two are like polar opposites and are these two's favorites out of my siblings." He jerked his thumb towards Nora and Ren with a smirk. Nora had a sheepish grin and Ren just had an amused look. "Bleu is technically the older of the two by ten minutes and has a personality close to Ren's. She actually as electric blue hair with blonde tips, so out of all my sisters, she has the lowest aura reserves. Meanwhile Rose is practically a Mini-Nora, Oum help us when they get together." Nora chuckled at that. "She has blonde hair with pink streaks that take up about half her hair, so I'd wager she has as much aura as Rouge and Olive if not she's a close fourth. But she's going through a rebellious phase and says she doesn't like the blonde streaks so she has been dying her hair pink." He sighs and shrugs. "But what do you expect from a thirteen-year-old?"

"How old are your sisters?" Pyrrha asked.

"Noir and Blanc are twenty-four. Rouge recently turned twenty-one to her utter joy. Olive is fifteen, same as Ruby. Bleu and Rose are thirteen like I said before. And finally, Marron is twelve." He said drinking his coffee.

"And what's your youngest sister like?" Pyrrha asked.

Jaune smiled. "Well she's adorable, especially with her dirty blonde hair. We're actually not sure whether she will have a lot or a little aura at this point because of it. She's just a bundle of joy. Anyone who's around her can't help but smile when close to her. Although, she is very shy around people she doesn't know very well." He sighed sadly, "She was like that with me for a while when we would visit on occasions during our training with Mother. I left when she was very young. Eventually, she remembered who I was and wouldn't let me go when I was around. Had to carry her everywhere." A small tear slid down his face and everyone saw it. "I think she was hurt the most when I left." He said sadly. "She gets so happy when I come home and then she puts on a brave face when I leave. But Mom tells me she just cries for the whole day after I leave."

He couldn't mope for long though. Due to the cinnamon roll smacking him in the side of the face and staying there. Everyone turned to Nora, who had a big smile, "None of that, Fearless Leader. Mama Arc told you to stop that."

Jaune just sighed before he took the pastry off his face and started to cleaning his cheek with a small smile. "Thank you, Nora."

"Anytime!" She said happily.

"Anyways, that's all I have to say about my sisters. You'll have to wait to meet them in person." He smirked and everyone just looked at him confused. Including Ren and Nora. "The whole family intends to come for the Vytal Festival." He said happily. Everyone looked excited at this, although Blake and Yang were slightly nervous for obvious reasons. Jaune gave them a reassuring smile and they visibly calmed down and they started to enjoy their morning again.

After breakfast, the two teams left the cafeteria and were wondering what to do next. Jaune started to walk away and was stopped by Pyrrha, "Where are you headed, Jaune?"

Jaune motioned with his head down the hall. "Locker rooms. I want to see the extent of the damage done to my armor. And no, I'm not going to train. Last thing I need is to pull my stitches and I can't raise my left arm as much as I would want to." They all agreed with him and decided to follow him because they had nothing else to do. When they got there, Jaune opened his locker and started to inspect his armor. His vambracers, rerebrace and greaves were fine besides a few dents and scraps. His chest plate was an entirely different story. The whole left side was severely dented in and barely looked like it's previous state. Honestly, if he didn't have aura the whole left side of his chest would've most likely been crushed from the look of his armor. "Well, that explains how the bullet got through. The armor is so screwed that it was barely protecting my left side." He sighed, "No choice but to call him. He's gonna murder me."

"Call who, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.

"An old friend of Mother's. He's the one that helped the three of us forge our weapons and the one who made my armor. He's the only one who can fix this." He pulled out his scroll and was going through his contacts.

"Couldn't you get someone else to fix it?" Ruby asked.

"That wouldn't be wise." Ren answered. "Vulcan's armor is special. He's able to put his aura into the metal he works to make it more resistant."

"Can't anyone do that?" Yang asked.

Ren merely shook his head, "Anyone can channel aura into armor or weapons but the effects are only temporary. Vulcan's Semblance allows him to do so and the effects are permanent. Jaune needs the extra resilience due to his high aura and Semblance possibly being able break weaker armor."

Everyone nodded and turned back to Jaune, he had his scroll out and it was ringing. Soon the screen showed a dimly lit forge and a man holding the scroll. He was a burly man, a perfect mix between fat and muscle. He had a bushy beard and wild hair, both black. He was wearing a traditional blacksmith apron and brown clothing. He had hazel eyes and his face was covered in soot. He spoke in a gruff voice, "Aye, who sit?"

"Vulcan. It's me." Jaune spoke with a smile.

Vulcan looked into the scroll closely, "Lad? Is tha ye?"

"Yup. How have you been?" he questioned.

"Same ol, same ol. Now, tell mae, whadja break dis time?"

"How do you know I broke something?"

"Ye onleh ever call mae when ye break somen." He deadpanned.

Jaune scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Promise me you won't get too mad." Vulcan nodded stiffly. Jaune handed Ren his scroll before he lifted his chest plate up for him to see.

Vulcan just stared at it for a long time before he shouted, "Ow tha ell didja manage tae break tha? Itsapposed tae be highly resistant!"

"I kinda fought a giant robot by myself to protect my friends." Jaune answered.

Vulcan just sighed and ran a hand down his face, "Course ye did."

Jaune put down the armor and took back his scroll, "So, could you fix it?"

"Aye. Yull have tae send it tae mae tae fix, auta take about a week tae fix and make better."

"That long?" Jaune asked shocked.

"Aye, have tae reforge it and pour more aura inta it. Better send mae all ovit tae make em all even. Wan anythin else?" he asked.

Jaune thought for a second, "Could you forge me some pauldrons and cuisses? I feel like I might need some more protection."

"Aye. Got anythin else tae tell mae?" he asked.

"Um, I kinda lost my original rerebrace." He said nervously.

"Ye did wha?! Breakin aye can git but losin? Ow?!"

"I kinda got hit by a Beringel and it got lost in a canyon."

Vulcan gave an explosive sigh, "Fine send the newun tae mae an aye'll give it tha same treatment."

Jaune smiled, "You're the best, Vulcan."

"Yer jus lucky aye like ye lad or else aye'd be kickin yer ass right now."

Jaune felt another lecture coming and sighed. "Nora, catch." He said as he tossed is scroll at her.

She caught it and smiled, "Uncle Vulcan, how are you?!"

"Lightnin Bug? Look attcha!" The two started to have their own conversation and Vulcan seemed much cheerier.

Everyone just looked at Jaune and Ren for answers. "He's always liked Nora best." They answered in sync. The others nodded and giggled slightly. Everyone helped Jaune carry all of his armor back to the dorms. Once there, he found a box big enough for all of it and started to place them inside the box with a lot of paper. He closed the box with tape and soon wrote down the address of Vulcan's shop. After he mailed it, they were all sitting in their usual spot under 'their' tree.

"So, Jaune, what did Ozpin want?" Ren asked.

Jaune quickly looked around before he spoke up, "He, along with Goodwitch and General Ironwood wanted to know what happened on Friday."

The others looked shocked for a second before a question was raised by Blake, "What did you tell them?"

"Don't worry. I gave them a very short version of what happened. I told them me and Yang went out for a night on the town, you and Sun were chased by the Paladin, that's the name of the robot. We all worked together to stop it and we found Torchwick piloting it. Then that Neo girl showed up along with a second Paladin and I fought it to try and protect you girls. We found that a White Fang was piloting it and well, how exactly I got like this." He motioned to himself.

"What did they say?" Weiss asked.

"Ironwood was pissed that they couldn't interrogate the Faunus but I think he was just angry that he has no idea how they got their hands on prototype Atlas tech. Ozpin and Goodwitch were more worried about my emotional state." Jaune said offhandedly.

Everyone shared a look and Ruby spoke up, "So, how are you emotionally?"

Jaune sighed and looked up to the sky. "I'm dealing with it. As you all know, that wasn't the first time I've killed. It weighs a lot on my soul but the rationalization that if I didn't, someone I care for would've been hurt or worse helps a bit. Doesn't make it go away but it's not supposed to. It's just supposed to help me accept it and move on."

He was still looking up at the sky when he felt a weight on his lap. He looked to see Ruby sitting on his lap and hugging him. She was just looking at him with a supportive look in her eyes. Jaune just smiled and hugged her back. He enjoyed it for a bit but soon Blake, Yang and Pyrrha joined in the hug. Blake hugging his right, Yang hugging his left and Pyrrha was hugging him from behind. Jaune was about to say something until he felt someone tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Weiss with a hesitant expression. He just smiled at her and opened his arms enough for her to join and Ruby moved to the right side of his lap to make room for her partner. Weiss blushed with a small smile and joined in hugging him next to her leader on the left side of his lap. Jaune had a very content smile on his face until finally, Nora tackled them all to the ground and adding to the group hug. They all just started looked on with a happy expression, knowing that Jaune would be okay.

They stayed like that for a while until they heard him squeak out, "Girls. Trouble. Breathing." They all quickly got off of him before they killed their favorite swordsman. But they then enjoyed the rest of their Sunday with each other.


	41. Frustration

Jaune was probably more frustrated than he had ever been before. It had been two weeks since Jaune sent his armor to Vulcan for it to be repaired and they weren't back yet. Jaune had called Vulcan multiple times and he revealed to him that he had to put a full day's worth of aura into each piece to get his armor to the resistance that he needed them at. Which meant it would take Vulcan ten days to just channel enough aura into them and that didn't count the time needed to reforge some pieces and the time it took to get from his shop to Beacon. Until he had his armor back he couldn't have a proper spar with anyone. He had become accustom to the armor shielding him so his aura would not have to excessively take hits for him.

Although, he was right about his wounds. His cracked ribs were fully healed halfway through the previous week and that at least allowed him to do some very light training. But it didn't help much with his stress. By the end of the week, the bullet wound was completely healed but he had a scar just above his heart and on his shoulder blade. That did allow him to start training at his usual pace again but it still wasn't enough. He didn't realize it until now that the spars he had throughout the week in Combat Class was therapeutic to him. They gave him an outlet for his frustration and stress safely. It had been two whole weeks since his last actual fight and the last time he could blow off steam. And it was killing him. Even his training matches with Pyrrha and usual spars with Yang weren't helping. They both held back considerably due to his wounds at first and now from his lack of armor.

Speaking of Yang, things between the two of them were going fine. They both were happy and enjoying their time together. They went on a few 'light' dates but Yang had a few better ideas after he was a hundred percent. That somewhat frightened Jaune. The only problem was his other girlfriend. Blake seemed to be growing more distant over the last couple of weeks. He thought at first that she was giving him and Yang some time to get their relationship started. But he wasn't sure now. He tried to hang out with her but she either had something to do or gave him some lame excuse. He was starting to think that she was losing interest in him and that scared him. He may be with Yang as well but that didn't mean he wanted to lose Blake. He couldn't even talk to her because she disappeared every time he tried to. To say this was adding to his stress and frustration would be an understatement. If he couldn't fight someone soon it could get explosive.

Luckily, he didn't have to wait long. His next Combat Class was that same day and he just got a package with Vulcan's symbol on it, a hammer set in front of an anvil. Jaune quickly told his friends to go on without him. He was going to meet them there after he tried on his new armor. When he got to his dorm he put the box on his bed and tore into it. He quickly put on his usual clothing, he also wore his black hoodie for nostalgia. He pulled out the chest plate first, it looked brand new and Vulcan lengthened the amour to cover his solar plexus, and go down to about two thirds of his back to cover more of his spine and even his sides under his arms. He could also feel a faint warmth from the metal and he knew it was because of all the aura put into it. He quickly put it on and it felt like he was reunited with an old friend. He pulled out the new pauldrons next. They were circular and covered his shoulders completely. He wasn't sure how they were to be put on though, they had no straps or anything similar. Soon he just laid one on his shoulder and heard a click and realized that there were powerful magnets in his chest plate that would hold them in place. He smiled and quickly put on the second one before diving into the box again.

He pulled out the rerebrace he got from Pyrrha and quickly strapped it to his left arm. He fished out the vambracers and saw that Vulcan had extended them to cover his elbows and even the back of his hands. He put on his gloves then slid the vambracers onto his forearms. Now with the pauldrons, rerebracer and vambrace, his whole left arm would be covered in armor. Next came his new cuisses, which he promptly strapped onto his thighs. Finally, he pulled out his greaves and put them on and grabbed his swords and attaching them to his back. He looked into the mirror and saw how he looked and he felt like a better prepared Huntsman.

He was about to throw out the box when he heard something else in it. He looked and pulled out a small metal case no bigger than his scroll. He opened it to find four syringes in a carrying case. They were filled with a clear liquid and he had no idea what they were. He saw on the back of the lid was a folded note. He pulled it out and opened it.

Jaune,

I've finally finished my latest project for a client. I had a bit left over and decided they would do you better than me. The syringes hold a serum laced with a new version of my nano machines, just add a small amount of aura into them and they'll store and replicate it. A single shot should restore most of someone's aura but in your case, probably only half. But be careful. They will slow down your aura rejuvenation for a limited time and more consecutive shots will only increase that. Keep in touch. I'm still here for you. For anything.

-A

Jaune just smiled at the note. He put it on the desk before doing what he was told and channeled a very small amount of aura into the vials. They started to glow a faint white before he closed the case and put it in his desk drawer. The day seemed to be turning for the better. He was about to head to Combat Class and volunteer for any fight. That was until his scroll went off. He picked it up and saw it was Qrow. He raised an eyebrow before he answered, "What's up, Qrow?"

There was a silence before the Huntsman spoke, "Kid, I have news for you. And you're not going to like it." His day just made a full one eighty at that.

* * *

Meanwhile, Team RWBY and the NR of JNPR were watching Pyrrha fight a four on one fight against CRDL. The members of CRDL had significantly improved since the first semester. They each took Jaune's criticisms to heart and worked to improve themselves. They weren't perfect but were definitely giving Pyrrha a challenge with their improved teamwork. Although, the six were only paying half attention to the fight and were looking around for Jaune. The class was almost over and they couldn't see him anywhere. They were all starting to get worried but soon they were all brought back to the fight when they heard their Professor, "And that's the match."

The four members of CRDL were on the ground and slowly getting up with Pyrrha standing, out of breath. Cardin slowly walked over to her and held out his hand, "Good match. I thought we had you there for a second."

Pyrrha smiled before she shook his hand, "You guys did well. I was surprised."

Cardin chuckled slightly, "Not well enough, at least not yet." He smiled and helped his teammates stand and walk out of the arena.

Professor Goodwitch soon spoke again, "Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more match. Any volunteers?" She started to look around until her eyes landed on Blake. "Ms. Belladonna?" Blake slammed her book closed and stared wide eyed at Goodwitch. "You've been rather docile for the last few classes. Why don't you- "

She was interrupted as Mercury stood with his hand raised, "I'll do it."

Goodwitch just looks at him, "Mercury, is it? Very well, let's find you an opponent." She was saying as she was looking at her scroll but was interrupted again.

"Actually, I wanna fight her." Mercury said as he pointed at Pyrrha.

Pyrrha was shocked, "Me?"

"I'm afraid Miss Nikos has just finished a match. I recommend you choose another opponent." Goodwitch stated.

"No, it's fine!" Pyrrha said cheerfully. "I'd be happy to- "

"I don't think so." Came a familiar voice from the back of the class. Everyone turned to see Jaune in his new armor standing by the entrance and he didn't look like he was in a good mood. He started to make his way further into the class.

"Mr. Arc. So, good of you to finally join us." Goodwitch said with a noticeable edge.

Usually any student would be afraid at this point but Jaune just shrugged and kept walking, "Sorry, Professor. I was busy. Anyways, Pyrrha won't be fighting." He said with a tone full of finality.

Everyone was shocked by this but soon Mercury spoke up. "This has nothing to do with you, Blondie."

Jaune turned to him with a hard glare, "Actually, it does. As the leader of Team JNPR, I can override the decision of any of my teammates when it comes to a spars or matches. If I find them in a condition not fit for battle, that is. Pyrrha just fought a four on one fight and is exhausted, so she won't be fighting."

"What? Afraid she can't take me?" he said with a sneer.

"Oh, she could with little issue. But I won't let you try to take advantage of my partner." He said with an edge, "So, either drop it or if you're so dead set on a fight, you can join me in the ring."

The two just stared each other down until he had a smirk, "Sure, why not?" The two made their way down to the arena. Pyrrha passed Jaune and gave him a concerned look but he was either ignoring it or just didn't notice. When the two of them got into their positions, Mercury got into a martial arts stance and Jaune drew Kakiri and his eyes shifted crimson before getting into his own stance.

"Wait a minute." The others turned to Ruby, "Why is Jaune using Kakiri? He usually uses Suikiri to hide his abilities."

Everyone thought about it and agreed as they all turned to Ren and Nora. Ren shrugged, "No idea. But Jaune is definitely not thinking straight. I can sense his aura and it's filled with rage." They all were staring at either Ren or Jaune waiting for the match to begin. "Let's hope he doesn't do anything he'll regret." Ren said with a worried tone and Nora scooted closer to him for a bit more emotional comfort.

Goodwitch looked at both of the students over, "Are you both ready?" They both nodded. "Let the match begin!"

Both charged at each other. Mercury went for a kick to Jaune's face but Jaune dropped to the ground and swept his legs out from under him. Mercury just back flipped before he could hit the ground. Jaune quickly jumped back to his feet and charge again. The two started to clash, kicks against sword slashes with neither gaining an edge. Jaune went for a thrust but Mercury moved back far enough to not take the hit. But Jaune just released a blast of fire from his sword to send him back. Mercury skidded to a stop before he looked back at Jaune and gave him an unimpressed 'hmmm'.

Jaune growled in anger as Mercury charged for an axe kick. Jaune quickly jumped back but was forced onto the defensive as Mercury delivered a series of roundhouse and windmill kicks. Jaune started to slash at the air and send a series of fire waves at him but Mercury nimbly dodged out of the way. Mercury was about to land one of those roundhouse kicks but Jaune used his armored left arm and enhanced strength to stop it. He was about to swing Kakiri at him until Mercury kicked it away and embedded it into the ground not far from them.

But before Mercury could capitalize, Jaune gave a roar and a wave of flame erupted from his whole body. Mercury jumped back and Jaune retrieved Kakiri before charging again. Mercury raised his leg and kicked the air repeatedly, sending bullets at Jaune. Jaune stopped and started to deflect the bullets as quickly as he could before his stamina ran low. That's when Mercury kicked him in the chest and released an air blast sending Jaune flying. He landed on the ground hard and he was breathing raggedly.

Mercury just looked at him with a sneer before he started to speak in a conceded tone, "Really? That's all you have? What a letdown. You're 'exhausted' partner would've been better and you're supposed to be a team leader? That's a joke. They certainly dropped the ball with you." Every word he spoke was gas to the fire of Jaune's rage. He was one step away from exploding and Mercury just stepped over it. "But I guess that's what you need for a pathetic team."

"That's enough!" Goodwitch declared. "That is not proper conduct during a spar, you should know better- " Goodwitch was drowned out from the sound of an explosion. Everyone turned to see Jaune standing, surrounded by a raging inferno and red aura. And his right eye glowing with crimson flames surrounding it. Goodwitch took a slight step back and Mercury was just staring in disbelief until he heard Jaune speak.

"All I have?" Jaune started to chuckle with no humor in it. "Wrong. Dead wrong." He said in a cold voice filled with rage. He raised his left hand and all the flames littering the arena started to glow crimson before they all started to converge in the air. "Let me show you a glimpse of what I can really do!" As Jaune said that he thrust his arm towards Mercury as the fire started to fly towards him.

Mercury jumped back to avoid it but as soon as it hit the ground it raised again and flew towards him, like a King Taijitu trying to strike at it's prey. Mercury started to run as quickly as he could while the fire kept chasing him. Mercury looked towards Jaune who was just watching. He started flipping and sending air blasts at him. Jaune merely raised his hand and a crimson wall of fire appeared in front of him to stop the attacks. Jaune then pulled his arm back and the wall condensed into a meter-long diameter fireball. He shot his hand forward and it flew directly at Mercury. Mercury combat rolled for it to just barely miss him but as he was getting to his feet, the fireball hit the ground along with the stream of fire and created an explosion that sent him flying. He skidded across the ground and as he was rising, he saw Jaune pointing his sword at him before a stream of crimson flames shot at him. His eyes widen and he quickly dove to the side but still glancing him. He slowly stood and realized he had bitten off more than he could handle. He was supposed to learn more about Pyrrha Nikos, not this pyromaniac. He looked at Goodwitch, "I forf– "

He was interrupted as Jaune used both the fire and his aura to shoot forward and kicked Mercury in his side with his enhanced strength. Mercury went flying but Jaune wasn't done. He shot off again with more aura and fire to get in front of him. He pulled back his right hand and condensed crimson flames around it before he punched Mercury into the ground. His strength mixed with the flames created a huge crater and Mercury's aura was depleted.

Everyone was shocked by this, even RWBY and NPR. Not from his abilities but from the pure brutality of the fight. Goodwitch was stunned before she recollected herself, "The match is over and the winner is Mr. Arc."

Jaune didn't say a word. He flicked Kakiri to the side and the flames around the blade and arena were extinguished as his right eye stopped glowing. He sheathed his sword and went to leave the arena. Mercury slowly got back to his feet, clearly in pain. "You got lucky, Blondie. But you won't be around to protect your little girlfriend forever."

He was shut up right after that due to Jaune using his aura to get in front of him and grabbing him by his throat. He picked him up one handed and stared him down with his still crimson eyes. "Was that a threat?" he said in that still cold tone. Mercury couldn't speak so Jaune pulled him closer and whispered into his ear. "Ever threaten her or any of my friends again and I'll kill you." Jaune then threw him to the ground.

Mercury started coughing, "Is that supposed to scare me?" he said heatedly.

Jaune just looked down at him, "I don't care if you're afraid or not. Just know, I never go back on my word and I have no qualms with keeping it."

Mercury just swallowed hard and was just staring at him. This was the first time he was afraid of someone besides Cinder. Jaune just walked away after that. Not caring what Goodwitch was saying. He slowly left the arena and the classroom. He was halfway down the hall before he realized someone was calling out to him. He turned to see his friends running after him, Blake was lagging slightly behind. "What's up?" he asked in a neutral tone.

"What do you mean, 'What's up?', you just used your Stage Two Semblance in the middle of class!" Ruby nearly shouted at him.

"I know." Was all he said. Everyone just stared at him in shock. There was definitely something off with Jaune.

They were about to bring it up when Sun showed up and wrapped an arm around Jaune's shoulders, "Jaune, man, that was awesome! That was up there with that water thing you did at the docks! Your badass level just increased, big time!"

Jaune gave him a fake smile. "Thanks, Sun."

Sun returned the smile before turning to the rest of the group, "So, you guys going to the dance or what?"

"We don't have time for a stupid dance!" Blake nearly yelled at Sun.

Everyone was shocked at her outburst and Sun was visibly hurt by that. Jaune grew angry again and walked past Sun and looked her in the eyes. "That was uncalled for, Blake. I don't know what your problem is but you need to get a hold of yourself."

She just glared at him, "Well excuse me for not being all smiles and laughs like _someone_."

"Well sorry if I don't think being happy and spending time with people I _care_ for is a waste of time." He shot back. Everyone was not liking where this was going.

"Well, sorry if I have other priorities to deal with. I thought _you_ of all people would get that!" she yelled.

Jaune finally lost it and stepped over the line, "Oh, trust me I do! Considering I took a bullet for your crusade!" There were a few gasps and Blake's expression shifted from anger to shock to pain. There was the beginning of tears before she turned and ran. Jaune just stared angrily at her retreating form before he turned around. His friends were staring at him with shock and in Yang's case, anger. "What?" he asked with an edge.

Pyrrha stepped forward, "Jaune, we know you're angry but that was crossing the line."

Jaune just scoffed and turned away, "I'm going out. Don't wait up." Was all he said before he grabbed Raikiri's handle and shooting off in a burst of lightning before anyone could stop him. Jaune got to the training rooms shortly after. He went in and set the training to the highest level possible and set the drones to fifty, the highest amount allowed for this level. These drones were allowed to learn from fighting an opponent and would improve the longer they fought. Only a few people ever tried this setting on the highest number of drones. Jaune quickly grabbed Kakiri and got into his stance. He wasn't leaving this room until he destroyed all the drones or was completely deprived of aura. He was just done with this day.


	42. Pain: Past and Present

Team RWBY were all in their dorm room, Blake ran there to get away from Jaune after their argument. The rest of her team showed up not long after to try and convince her to take a break from her work with trying to figure out what the White Fang is up to. Blake, of course, was too absorbed into her work and too stubborn to listen. She was about to leave the room but as she opened the door, JNPR's door shot open and Nora and Pyrrha ran down the hall as quickly as they could. RWBY was stunned by this and soon Ren came out and shouted to them, "Girls, where are you going?! We still don't know where he is!"

Nora quickly turned around and shouted back, "That doesn't matter! Jaune needs us!"

This got RWBY's attention. Yang was the one that spoke up, "What's wrong with Jaune?" she asked worried.

Pyrrha spoke up in a panic and waving her scroll in the air, "Jaune's aura has dropped into the red and is still dropping! We need to get to him, now!" She looked back at her scroll, "His GPS is in the training rooms!" Her and Nora started to run again and soon Ren was following. RWBY wasn't far behind. Blake may have been hurt by Jaune's word but she still loved him. She wasn't going to sit back and let something happen to him.

They soon arrived in the training rooms. They went to the only active room and tried to open it but to no avail. It was locked from the inside. The could see by the terminal that it was set to the highest setting against the maximum amount of drones. They were afraid now. Jaune would have difficulty against this setting in optimal condition. But he was already exhausted from his fight and wasn't thinking clearly. Yang was not about to let her boyfriend get hurt because of something stupid and with no hesitation, she pulled back her fist and smashed the door in.

That's when they saw everything. Jaune standing against the far wall, injured and barely conscious. He could barely raise his arm and he was surrounded by thirty of the fifty drones, the other twenty in scraps on the floor. The room also had flames, puddles and rock outcrops throughout the rooms. Jaune was breathing raggedly but still had and angry expression on his face, "Come on, you bucket of bolts! I'm still standing!" He pushed off the wall and almost lost his balance. The drones started to charge. Pyrrha quickly used her Polarity to hold back as many of the drones as possible as the others ran in and started to destroy as many of the drones as possible. Yang and Blake leading the charge but Blake doing far less than normal due to her exhausted state.

Soon all the drones were taken care of and they all turned to Jaune, who was fighting to not pass out. He looked at them with his angry expression, "What are you doing! I had... them…." He passed out halfway through his sentence and fell forward.

Yang caught him and looked down at him in concern. She saw him sleeping and smiled slightly. She turned to the others, "Let's get him back to the dorms. We need to talk to him about whatever the hell is eating him."

RWB agreed but NPR looked at each other before Ren spoke up, "As much as we would like to, Yang, Jaune wouldn't go for that. If he doesn't want to talk about something he won't, no matter what."

"Well too bad for him. This is serious. So he is either going to talk or I'm gonna kick his ass." No one was going to argue with her. She soon had Jaune on her back without his swords or armor. Pyrrha volunteered to take them to his locker and everyone else followed Yang. Jaune stayed asleep the entire way to the dorms but Yang could hear him mumble in his sleep and pull himself closer to her. She would've like this in any other circumstance but her worry for him was overriding the joy.

When they got back to JNPR's dorm, Yang gently laid him down on his bed and the others decided to stick around until he woke up. Ren and Nora sat down on her bed, Ren reading a light novel and Nora hugging him from behind to distract herself from her worry for her Fearless Leader. Ruby was sat on Pyrrha's bed and was trying to stop herself from just waking Jaune up herself, so she decided to just mess with the end of her skirt to not do so. Weiss was sat down at one of the desks with her scroll out, trying to study in the meantime but with little success. Her mind kept going back to Jaune. Yang had pulled up the chair from his desk and was sitting in it backwards and was just watching Jaune. She was acting strong but she was scared. Nothing scared her more than not being able to help the people she cares for. Blake was standing near the door, leaning against the wall. She wasn't exactly sure what to do and was still trying to not just pass out then and there.

Pyrrha soon walked into the room and looked to see what everyone was doing. She sat down on her bed next to Ruby and was just looking at her partner. It was quiet for a while until Yang decided to break the silence, "So, do any of you have any idea what's bothering him?" She asked looking at the rest of JNPR.

Pyrrha just shook her head and the other two just shrugged, "No idea. Jaune has a temper, we've all seen it but for him to get this out of shape, it has to be something serious." Ren said looking up to look at his brother.

"How'd he get so banged up anyways?" Nora asked. "Isn't the training room supposed to shut down after your aura gets into the red?"

"Jaune probably found a way to override it." Weiss spoke up. "When he's dead set on something, he'll find some way to do it. He could've just used electricity on the terminal to overload it and shut down the safety protocols."

They heard Jaune start to mumble a bit and looked to him. He was fidgeting in his sleep and was sweating slightly. "What's wrong with him?" Ruby asked with concern.

"Probably a nightmare." Pyrrha said and everyone looked to her. "He's been getting them a lot lately." Before she could say more, Jaune bolted up in his sleep with a gasp. Everyone flinched back at this as Jaune was breathing heavily. He looked around the room in a panic until he saw where he was and sighed in relief. He gently wiped his forehead to get rid of the sweat before he spoke up.

"How'd I get here?" he asked.

"I carried you here." Yang spoke with her usual chipper tone. "We saved you from getting your ass handed to you by the drones."

Jaune slowly nodded, "Right." He said as he slowly stood up and started to walk to the door before Blake moved to lean against it, blocking his path, and Yang grabbed his arm to stop him. He looked to her and with a neutral voice spoke, "Let go."

She shook her head, "Not happening, Jaune. Something is wrong and you need to tell us." She spoke in a voice that held little room for argument.

Not that Jaune wouldn't try, "I don't need to do anything." He spoke in the same neutral tone.

Pyrrha stood up and walked over to him, "Jaune, I normally would respect your privacy but this is serious. You could've been hurt." She said with concern.

"We're training to be Huntsmen and Huntresses; pain is part of that." He answered her.

"That may be so, but there is a difference between getting hurt and getting hurt doing something asinine. You should know better." Weiss lectured him.

This got a little of the heat from before back into his words, "Well, excuse me if I don't care what you think about my choices."

Ruby walked up to him and gently spoke to him, "Please, Jaune. Just talk to us. This isn't you."

"Or maybe it is." Everyone was confused by this. "People are capable of doing good and bad. And their true nature lives within the choices they make. Maybe this is just who I am and the 'Jaune' you knew was just who I wished I was." He said in the same neutral tone.

Nora quickly bolted over to him, "But that's not true, Jaune. Me and Ren have grown up with you and we know you're the nicest and kindest person around. You only ever do good." She said with as much conviction as she could muster.

Jaune just gave a chuckle devoid of all humor, "Good, huh? Tell me, would a good guy kill people?" Everyone was starting to understand. "Because I've killed more than my fair share of people at my age. Maybe I just like to kill people and by using that as an excuse everything just works out."

Ren got up and stood beside Nora. "Do you honestly believe that, Jaune?"

Jaune shrugged, "Why wouldn't I? I've killed three people now and that number will only rise. Hell, you could say that I'm the cause of Gin's and Amber's deaths as well. I'm sure that they'd agree."

He was stopped when he was slapped across the face. He turned to see Blake standing in front of him, mad. Everyone was shocked and took half a step back. The two just stared at each other. "Don't you dare say that." Blake spoke. "You are not just some psychopath that wants nothing more than death and I refuse to let you think of yourself that way. And there is no way that Gin and Amber would hold you accountable for their deaths."

"And how would you know!?" Jaune shouted. "You never knew them and you weren't there for their deaths! Hell, I wasn't even there for Amber's. Some boyfriend I turned out to be. And I couldn't protect Gin when she needed me the most. And she thought of me as a son? That was a mistake." Tears started to fall down his face. "When they needed me, I couldn't do shit. The only thing I could do is mourn and bury them. I couldn't do anything for them then." Tears started to fall faster. "I still can't do anything for them." He finally started to fully cry and was about to fall to his knees as Blake caught him and slowly lowered them to the ground on their knees. He started to cry into her shoulder and she just rubbed his back and held him.

Everyone just looked on, not sure whether to get involved or not. They just let the two have their time with each other. Soon Jaune stopped but didn't move to get up. "Want to talk about it now?" she asked. Jaune nodded and gently pulled away from Blake. He leant his back against the foot of his bed and sat down on the ground.

He took a deep breath before speaking. "I was about to head to Combat Class when Qrow called me. I picked up and he gave me some very bad news. That news made me angry and that combined with all the stress and frustrations I've had over the past two weeks pushed me over the edge."

"What was the news?" Ruby asked slightly hesitantly.

Jaune took a deep breath and turned to look at Nora and Ren with a very sad look, "Someone desecrated Mother Gin's grave." Nora gasped as she brought her hands to her mouth and her eyes started to water. Ren hugged her and he had a very angry expression on his face. Jaune looked down at the floor below him. The others all looked at the three with feelings of both anger and sadness.

"What…what d-did they d-do?" Nora asked.

Jaune just shook his head and didn't look up. "They carved 'animal' into her gravestone and left a mutilated corpse of a fox on top of her grave." Everyone was disgusted by this. Jaune clenched his fist tightly and the little aura he had started to flare. "I was so angry. I just wanted to make someone hurt and Mercury just pushed me further and further. Even after I won, I wasn't okay. I wanted to just destroy something. That's why I went to the training rooms. I didn't wanna leave unless I destroyed those drones or if I was beaten senseless. To feel something, anything, other than this."

Everyone was quiet. Now they knew why he was so upset. They all were. And if they were this upset, how were Ren and Nora feeling. Jaune's aura faded shortly after and he just slumped before he looked up to the ceiling. "Even in death, she just can't escape the hate."

"Is there…anything we can do for you guys?" Weiss asked hesitantly.

Jaune looked back down to look at her with a small smile. "Thank you, Weiss. But I just need some time." He looked over to Ren and Nora, "Why don't you guys go into town with Ren and Nora? I think they need a fun time to get their minds off of this whole thing." They agreed and Pyrrha decided to go as well. As they were leaving, Jaune gently grabbed Blake's hand as she was getting up. She was looking at him now, "Would you mind staying for a bit?"

After a few seconds, she nodded. Everyone left but each spared them a look before leaving. When they all left. Jaune slid over slightly and Blake sat down beside him. He didn't let go of her hand but she didn't try to pull away. They were quiet for a while until Jaune spoke up. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Blake. I probably shouldn't have brought that up but you _were_ out of line before and I needed a way for you to understand."

Blake was quiet for a bit. "I'm sorry as well. I shouldn't have talked to Sun that way. I've just been stressed lately."

"I know, Blake. That's something we have to discuss. You're starting to get obsessed with all of this." She looked like she was going to argue so Jaune put a finger on her lips. "I know why you are doing this but this isn't healthy. You have barely been eating when in the cafeteria and you've barely been sleeping. And yes, Yang told me." He took his finger away.

"Look, we don't have time and I'm fine. So don't-" she stopped when she saw Jaune's fist, charged with aura, coming at her face. She had no time to react but Jaune stopped it an inch away from her face. His aura faded and he put his fist down.

"Yeah, you're fine." Jaune said sarcastically. "Blake, you should've been able to either dodge or stop that punch, but you couldn't. Your senses are dulled from your sleep deprivation and you're weak from not eating. If you couldn't stop that simple thing, what would you do against the White Fang or Torchwick?" he asked her. She didn't say anything so he continued. "I understand more than anyone how devoted you are to this but what's the use if you kill yourself in the process?"

Blake was still quiet. She knew he was right but she didn't want to admit it. She had more reasons to do this than he knew of. "You've had me worried." He said but she still didn't turn to face him. "Not just from the lack of sleeping and eating. I thought I was losing you." he said sadly and she turned to him in shock.

"What?" she asked. "Why would you think that?"

Jaune shrugged. "Can you blame me? For the last two weeks, we've spent less and less time together. We've barely even talked or seen each other this week. I was starting to think I did something to push you away and the thought of that, scared me more than I could say."

Blake quickly returned the pressure to his hand. "Jaune, that's not it. I wouldn't want to leave you. You're someone that means too much to me." She looked down and tears started to form. "You were right the whole time. Going after the Fang was so dangerous. But I didn't want to listen and because of that, you almost died. I almost lost the person I love most because of my stubbornness. And if you weren't there, it could've been Yang or Weiss or even Ruby." She started crying. "I've come to care for all of you so much. And I wanted to do this on my own to not put you all at risk again."

Jaune pulled her into a hug. And started to stroke her hair. "You weren't the cause of me almost dying. The two people responsible for that was the White Fang member and myself. You have nothing to blame yourself for. We all chose to come with you. That was our decision and no one else's. Stop trying to push us away. That hurts more than any flesh wound. Trust me I know."

"I can't lose you. Any of you." She said weakly.

Jaune gently cupped her cheek and raised her head for her to look him in the eyes. He gently started to wipe away her tears with a small smile. "You won't. Just trust in us as much as we trust you. And stop trying to do this on your own. You're not alone, not anymore." She smiled at that and leant against his chest, hugging him. Jaune smiled and moved her bow enough for him to kiss her ear. "I'm so glad I have my Kitten back. I've missed you." She chuckled before looking up and the two shared their first kiss in almost two weeks. "I love you, Blake."

"I love you, Jaune. Don't ever forget that." He smiled and nodded.

After that, she started to fall asleep. He moved her head against his chest so she could listen to his heartbeat. She soon fell asleep and he smiled before he soon followed her lead.

Their teams found them later. Leaning against his bed. Her head against his chest and him with his arm around her. Yang picked up Blake to take her to their room and Ren and Pyrrha helped Jaune into his bed. They were all thinking that the two looked a lot like a couple. But they dismissed those thoughts, all except Yang. She was glad they made up and had something to talk to the two of them about tomorrow.


	43. Equals

Teams RWBY and JNPR were in the cafeteria the next morning. They were all enjoying their morning and breakfast before classes. Jaune kept looking over to Nora and Ren; Nora was her usual hyper self and Ren was as stoic as ever. 'I hope those two are okay. I dropped a huge bomb yesterday.' He was taken out of his thoughts as he grabbed the apple flying at his face. He looked past it at a disappointed Nora. He smirked and bit into it, "Nice try, Little Sister."

She pouted, "I'll get you next time."

He chuckled before taking another bite. He looked across at Blake, who was eating a plate of eggs, bacon and toast like she was a wild animal. But considering she barely had eaten anything over the last two weeks, that made sense. He was just glad she was getting back to normal. Their heart to heart probably helped. He smiled at his favorite Faunus, 'Still weird. We went from friends to this in such a short jump. Although, I haven't been this happy in so long and she seems so much happier as well.' Blake must have felt his stare because she looked up at him and had a bashful smile. She was barely using any table manners.

Jaune just smiled at her, "Blake, you have some yolk on your face." He pointed to the corner of his mouth to show her. She was about to grab her napkin when Jaune reached over the table with his own and gently wiped it away. She blushed profusely. Jaune sat back down with his usual smile, "Better." Was all he said as he took another bite of his, now, apple.

All the other girls were looking at them with mild jealousy, less so from Yang however. Ruby, Weiss and Pyrrha were starting to wonder if something really was going on between the two of them. Weiss was so distracted with her thoughts, she accidentally dropped a spoonful of her oatmeal onto her shirt. "Oh no." She quickly started to clean it with her napkin but there was still a stain. "Just great. I don't have enough time to change my uniform." She said sadly.

"I can take care of that, Snow Angel." She looked up as Jaune was getting up and coming around to her side of the table. He had his left hand on his water clips as he was walking over. As his eyes shifted to the darker blue, he had his right hand out and was staring intently at his palm as it was glowing a faint blue from his aura. The others were just wondering what he was doing until water started to appear in his palm. It started to float into the air just above his palm, by this point it was the size of a golf ball.

"Jaune, how are you doing that?" Weiss asked.

Jaune was still focusing on the water. "I'm using my Semblance to collect the water in the air. Takes a lot of concentration and time so I don't use it in battle. Can you turn to face me?" She did what she was told and turned around in her seat. He took his left hand and placed it on his fire clips. His left eye gained crimson flecks into the blue. He raised his left hand and placed it next to the water. His left hand started to glow a faint red and soon the water ball was steaming slightly. "Perfect." He pointed his fingers towards the spot on her uniform and the water started to moves towards it. Weiss could feel the warm water seep into her shirt and even her bra. She blushed slightly as she felt the wet spot moving clockwise. Jaune than pulled his fingers to his palm and the water was pulled from her clothing. It was now filled with the oatmeal residue that was on her clothes and her clothes were completely dry now. "There we go. Good as new."

Weiss looked down at her uniform and the stain was no longer there. She looked at him with a smile, "Thank you, Jaune. But where'd you learn that?"

He just shrugged, "I'm a man of many talents." He looked at the dirty water ball still floating in his hand and he gained a devious smirk, "Oh, Nora!" He said in a sing song voice.

She looked at him and her eyes went wide, "Jaune, don't do it." She pleaded.

"Hmmm, remember that workout from hell you made me do." He said while pulling his arm back.

"Nooo!" She shouted as she ran out of the cafeteria. Every other student was confused by this.

Jaune started chuckling before he tossed it behind himself and out the window. "That was worth it." His eyes shifted back to normal and he picked his apple up and took another bite out of it. The other's started to chuckle as well.

"You wouldn't have actually thrown that at Nora, right?" Ruby asked.

Jaune shook his head, "Nah, but I'll think of something to do to get back at her." He looked over to Yang, "And you're also on that list, Sun Fire." He smirked before taking yet another bite of his apple.

Yang shrugged slightly, "I think I can handle whatever you come up with." She said with a smirk of her own.

Jaune raised an eyebrow, "Challenge accepted." Was all he said as he got up and they all went to their first class.

The day was going as normal as any other. Except, he noticed a lot of students were giving him a weird looks. He knew what this was all about; him losing his cool, quite literally, and using Stage Two fire in the middle of Combat Class. He sighed, 'Rumors are going to spread again. But, at least I'll be able to use my fire abilities more openly now. Although whether that is good or bad, I'm not sure of.'

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Blake giving him a small smile. He returned it before making sure the coast was clear before kissing her. She returned the kiss and went on their way.

* * *

Jaune was sitting in Oobleck's class. He was starting to zone out when his scroll went off. He took it out and saw he had a message from Yang. He opened it:

Yang: Hey, Hero! Would you mind meeting me after classes are over? I have something I wanna talk to you about.

Jaune quickly sent her a reply:

Jaune: Of course. Where?

He waited a few minutes until he got a response:

Yang: One of the empty classrooms. I'll send you the room number when I find it.

Jaune reread the message and alarms were going off in his head. He sighed before putting his scroll away, he already said he would so there was no way out of it. He tried to focus on the rest of the class but promptly zoned out again. There was no use with Oobleck. Even Ruby and himself with lightning aura couldn't hope to match the speed of his talking. And they tried with both passing out from lack of oxygen and agreeing to never try again.

After all the classes were done with, Jaune made his way to the empty classroom that Yang told him to go to. He was still wondering what she wanted to talk to him about. As he was in front of the door, he saw Blake arrive at the same time. Both looked at each other confused. Jaune spoke first, "Yang?"

Blake nodded, "Yang." With that they opened the door and walked into the classroom. They saw Yang sitting on the desk in the center and waved to them. They made their way down to the desk before Blake spoke up, "So, what did you want to see us about, Yang?"

Yang just smiled at them and patted the desk. Blake sat opposite of Yang and Jaune stayed standing, seeing as there was no room left on the desk. "I wanted to talk to you about something. Considering how you two have been acting lately." They both looked away at that. "Look, I understand you two but how you're acting isn't exactly healthy. Getting obsessed to the point of exhaustion and getting so angry you can't or won't think straight won't help anyone."

"We know, Yang." Blake told her. "We talked yesterday and figured it out."

Yang nodded, "I guessed but sometimes it's good to hear from a second person. Especially if they know where you're coming from. So, I wanna share a story with the two of you. Care to listen?" Both nodded, knowing this was important if Yang wasn't joking at all. "Ruby and I grew up in Patch, an island off the coast of Vale. Our parents were Huntsmen. Our dad taught at Signal and our mom took on missions around the kingdom. Her name was Summer Rose, and she was like Super Mom: Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters. And then…. One day she left for a mission and never came back." Yang looked down as she said this and both felt their hearts get heavy. They both knew this from Ruby talking about it briefly but it still hurt to hear. "It was tough. Ruby was really torn up, but I think she was still too young to really get what was going on, y'know? And my dad just kind of …. Shut down. It wasn't long before I learned why. Summer wasn't the first love he lost; she was the second. The first…. was my mom." Blake looked amazed and Jaune just looked away slightly.

Yang saw this and turned to him, "I guess you knew that we were half-sisters, huh?"

Jaune nodded slowly and turned back to her, "I kinda guessed. Gin and Qrow were friends and Qrow would tell me stories, a lot. He eventually told me about his twin sister and showed me her picture." He sighed, "I kinda pushed it to the back of my mind, until you guys told me about Qrow being your uncle and I saw how much you looked like Raven. It's almost uncanny." He looked down before continuing, "I didn't wanna say anything because I had no idea what the circumstances were. I didn't wanna hurt you or Ruby or both of you by saying the wrong thing."

Yang nodded at that, "Thank you, Jaune, that means a lot." He looked back up and she began to talk again, "Dad wouldn't tell me everything but I learned the two of them had been on a team together with Summer and Qrow, and that she'd left me with him right after I was born. No one had seen her since." At this point, Jaune walked around the desk and hugged Yang from behind while resting his chin on her shoulder. She was slightly stunned by this but she then looked over at him with a smile and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"Why did she leave you?" Blake asked.

Yang sighed, "That's the question. Why?" She leant back into Jaune more. "I didn't know the answer but I was determined to find out. It was all I thought about. I would ask anyone I could about what they knew about her. Then, one day I found something. What I thought was a clue that could lead me to answers or maybe even my mother. I waited for dad to leave the house, put Ruby in a wagon and headed out. I must've walked for hours. I had cuts and bruises, I was totally exhausted but I wasn't gonna let anything stop me. When we finally got there, I could barely stand but I didn't care; I had made it. And then I saw them. Those burning red eyes…" she was quiet for a bit.

Jaune just held her a bit tighter. "It's okay, Yang. You don't have to continue if you don't wanna. Me and Blake are experts in that area and will understand." Blake nodded and leant forward to hold her partner's hand.

Yang had a small smile and nodded, "Thanks, but I can do this." She took a deep breath before continuing, "There we were: a toddler sleeping in the back of a wagon and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter. But, as luck would have it, Qrow showed up just in time. My stubbornness should've gotten us killed that night." They were quiet for a while after that. No one was sure what to say. Yang eventually continued, "I'm not telling you two to stop. I haven't. To this day, I still want to know what happened to my mother and why she left me, but I will never let that search control me. Because if I destroy myself in the process, what good am I?"

Blake nodded, "You're right. And our boyfriend told me something similar." She smiled. "We won't let it consume us either. We have people that still need us." The two smiled and looked at Jaune who returned it.

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere. I have you two to keep an eye on now. Besides, what kinda boyfriend would I be if I didn't help you two with your problems?" He said cheerfully.

"Don't worry about me, Hero. I'm aware of my standing and am fine with it. Blake can take priority." She said.

Jaune and Blake looked at her confused. "Standing?" they asked almost in sync.

She nodded, "Yeah. Blake's first and I'm second. But that's fine by me." She said this but there was a sad undertone to it. Blake and Jaune were shocked by this. They looked at each other for a second, Jaune raised an eyebrow and Blake nodded. She gently patted Yang's hand before she got up and left the classroom. Yang tried to follow but Jaune refused to move and held her there. "Jaune?" she asked.

She then felt him gently smack the top of her head. "I know you're a blonde but please don't feed the stereotype." He said seriously.

"What?" she asked stunned.

Jaune let her go and spun her around so she was sitting on the desk but was looking directly at him. "You are not second and Blake is not first. You two are equal in my heart and I love you two the same amount. You both have qualities that made me fall for you; they're different but still very powerful. That's how this works and I will not have you think of yourself as second best because you are better than that." He gently caressed her cheek with a smile, "It doesn't matter if I dated you first, second or last. You're no less precious to me, my Sun Fire."

Yang smiled, "That sounds amazing but how do I know you're telling the truth?" She gave a teasing smile.

She was stunned when Jaune closed the gap so quickly and kissed her fully. She soon returned it with just as much passion. Jaune wrapped his arms around her back and introduced his tongue. Yang accepted it and wraps her own arms around his neck. The two engage into a heated tongue wrestle and Jaune moved his left hand to the back of her head, he gentle tangled his fingers into her golden locks and pulled her closer to him. Yang moaned her appreciation into the kiss and pulled him closer to her form. This caused her to fall onto the desk and Jaune on top of her. The two broke apart and Jaune raised himself off of her. She was staring at him with a half lidded expression, her chest rising and falling quickly and her arms resting besides her head. Jaune had his left hand still on the back of her head and his right was besides her stomach. He smirked at her before he lowered himself and gave her a chaste kiss before he started to suckle on her bottom lip followed by her top one.

Yang just laid there and accepted the treatment he was giving her. She felt like she was the only girl around right now. Jaune was worshiping her in a way she thought wasn't possible. He was showing her how much he loved her through his actions, instead of his words. Although she wasn't complaining. She felt him kiss her again before gently and slowly running his tongue over her lips. She soon opened her mouth and extended her tongue to him. He ran his own along her's for a second or two before he started to suck on it. She moaned from his affection before she reengaged him in a passionate kiss.

As they were making out, Jaune started to move his right hand up the desk and slowly start undoing her scarf. Once it was off he broke the kiss. Yang was breathing raggedly, "Jaune? Why did you stop?" she asked.

He just smiled before he kissed her lips then her chin followed by underneath her chin. He finally gently kissed the left side of her neck. She giggled as he reapplied the kiss multiple time. He then started to suck on the same spot and she started to moan loudly. She wrapped her one arm around his neck and her other one started to run through his hair. He kept sucking on her neck as he heard her moan in pleasure. He stopped and started to lick the same spot as she moaned more before he gently bit down and she gasped before pulling him closer. He stopped and applied one last gentle kiss to the love bite he gave her. He moved back to her face before he moved both his hands to her cheeks and gave her one last longing kiss.

They pulled apart and they just looked at each other lovingly. "So, believe me?" He asked just above a whisper.

She nodded slightly, "No doubt in my mind." She started to move her hands to her jacket to try to take it off. Until Jaune gently took her hands and stopped her. She looked at him confused and he just shook his head.

"Not yet. I prefer to enjoy the moments leading up to the big events and I am in no rush to get there before we are both ready." He said to her before he leant down to her ear and whispered, "Besides, I need to punish you for that workout from hell." He smirked and kissed her cheek before he got off the desk.

She sighed, slightly annoyed and sat up, "Damn. And I was so in the mood."

Jaune chuckled and handed her scarf to her, "You may need this."

She took out her scroll and used the camera to look at her neck. She saw the love bite and saw that it was dead center of the left side her neck. She wouldn't be able to hide it without her scarf. She grinned and looked at him, "Wow. Marking me now?"

Jaune shrugged, "Couldn't help it. You're too gorgeous."

She smiled and took back her scarf and started to put it back on. "I'm slightly tempted to just not wear this. Maybe show the school I'm taken."

Jaune blushed slightly, "Could you not? Not until we have everything settled in this relationship. The others finding out the wrong way could go badly."

She was done putting on her scarf, "I was joking, Jaune." She smiled and kissed him gently before speaking softly, "But once we do figure this out, I'm going to tell the whole world about us."

He grinned and held her close before kissing her forehead, "I'll agree as long as you see me as being worthy of you, Sun Fire."

She hugged him back, "There's no one more worthy than you."

They soon broke the hug and left the classroom to join their friends for a meal and then start preparing for the dance for the weekend.


	44. Heartbreak

It had been a few days now, Teams RWBY and JNPR were putting the final touches on the preparations for the dance. Weiss was trying to color coordinate the tablecloths with Ruby with little success while Pyrrha, Ren and Blake were putting up the last of the decorations. Leaving Yang, Nora and Jaune to place the speakers where they needed to go. Although, Jaune had to rely on his Semblance to be able to keep up with Nora and Yang. They were just about done setting them down when Yang noticed what Weiss was doing, "Weiss! I thought we agreed: No dollies!"

Weiss quickly got face to face with Yang, "If I don't get dollies, you don't get fog machines!"

Yang thought of something and smirked, "But Jaune was looking forward to the fog machines." She turned to Jaune with a smile and Weiss looked at him with a betrayed look.

Jaune just sighed, "I'm staying out of this. I need to set up the sound system anyways." He tried to walk away but Yang pulled him back to them.

"Come on, Jauney, you agree with me right?" She gave him a smile and leaned against him teasingly.

Before he could say anything, Weiss grabbed his other arm, "Jaune, you agree that dollies would add some class to our dance, right?" She looked up at him pleadingly.

At this point Jaune was hoping a miracle would come and save him from this situation. Luckily, Sun and Neptune walked in. "Your dance is gonna have fog machines?" Neptune asked.

Weiss got away from Jaune and walked up to him, sweetly saying, "We were thinking about it."

Jaune looked over at that and he clenched his jaw slightly. He was still having issues with this. Yang saw this and tried to move on to another subject, "So, do either of you have dates?"

Sun just shook his head, "Nah. We're going single and maybe we'll find someone there. How about you all?"

Nora jumped into the conversation, "Me and Ren are going together! But not, together-together." She added bashfully. Everyone just gave them a look that said 'Really?" and Jaune just sighed.

"I don't have a date but I really wasn't looking for one. Although with Yang as an older sister, that's a given." Ruby said with a shrug.

"Hey. It's not my fault that no one's good enough for my baby sister." She said while giving Jaune a sideways look before turning back to her sister, "Well, maybe one." Everyone looked at Yang confused while Jaune sent her a repressed glare.

"So who are you going with, Yang?" Sun asked.

Yang snorted, "Please, no one can handle me besides Jaune, so I'm going with him." She said this as she hugged his arm more while leaning her head against his shoulder with her eyes closed. Everyone looked at them in shock. That was until Yang spoke again, "As friends, of course." She said teasingly.

Everyone calmed down after that. But soon Blake walked over and hugged his other arm, imitating Yang, "Jaune's also escorting me to the dance." She declared.

"What!?" everyone shouted. Weiss, Ruby and Pyrrha had looks of jealousy. Ren, Nora, Neptune and Sun were just in shock. All them staring at the trio.

Jaune just shrugged and sighed, "I wasn't about to argue with these two. Besides, with me going with them, it'll deter any pricks from trying to hit on them. The whole school is still avoiding me since they found out about this." He held up his left hand, which was the arm Yang was holding, before creating a fireball. He had a devious smirk before speaking, "They don't wanna make me mad, now that they know I'm a _hot_ -head." Everyone groaned at that besides Yang, who giggled and snuggled closer to Jaune. Jaune just smiled at her.

"You've been spending too much time with her." Weiss deadpanned.

Jaune shrugged and extinguished the fireball. "Dude, can we talk really quick." Sun said as he motioned to the door.

"Sure." Jaune said as he untangled himself from the girls. He was walking with Sun when he shouted back, "Ren, keep Nora away from the sound system."

"On it." He said as he was pulling her away from the very system. She was pouting while being pulled away.

When they were away from the ballroom Jaune spoke up, "So, what's up?"

Sun just gave him a confused look, "I thought you were dating Blake?"

"I am." He replied.

"So, what up with Yang? I know she acts flirty but that was a bit too flirty, if you know what I mean."

Jaune sighed before he looked away and ran his hand through his hair, "Guess we couldn't hide it from everyone." He dropped his hand to his side and looked back at Sun, "I'm also dating Yang now. And before you ask, yes they know that I'm dating them both and they are okay with it."

Sun's eyes widened and his jaw dropped, "You're telling me, you're dating two of the most gorgeous girls at this school at the same time and they're alright with sharing you?" He asked in disbelief and Jaune just nodded. "You are one lucky son of a bitch."

"Hey, my mother is a fine lady. So was my second mother." He told him.

Sun just looked at him confused, "I'm not gonna ask. So, is this a secret or what?"

"For now. There's a few things I gotta settle before we can start telling people."

"Fair enough." Sun said and gave Jaune a fist bump before they made their way back to the ballroom. With Sun's and Neptune's help the preparations were done early and they all could now relax. Which they used to just hang out with each other. Although, Ruby was being clingier with Jaune and Pyrrha would not leave his side for any period of time. Weiss was also glancing over at him a lot more than normal.

* * *

Later on, Pyrrha and Jaune were having one of their usual spars. Both were pushing the other to their limit and both were thoroughly enjoying it. They both were finding ways of pushing the other out of their comfort zones and making them stay on their toes. It eventually ended because for once, they decided to have their spar in the training rooms and Jaune accidentally stepped out of bounds when avoiding an attack from Pyrrha. Jaune was pissed to say the least. He flopped onto the floor with a groan. "You've gotta be kidding me. How'd I forget about the ring out?"

Pyrrha came over sat down beside him, "You were so focused on me that you stopped paying attention to your surroundings."

He sighed, "I know. But with you, I need to give you my undivided attention." She giggled at that and Jaune grinned before he sat up, "Oh well. At least I won't have to worry about fighting you in the tournament." The two sat in a comfortable silence, just relaxing after their spar and enjoying the other's company. A thought popped into his head and he decided to ask Pyrrha about it, "So, you going with anyone to the dance, Pyr?"

She looked at him shocked and she looked away, "No."

"Really? I'm shocked that no one asked you." he said in disbelief.

She sighed, "I've been blessed with incredible talents and opportunities. I'm constantly surrounded by love and praise, but when you're placed on a pedestal like that for so long, you become separated from the people that put you there in the first place. Everyone assumes I'm too good for them. That I'm on a level they simply can't attain. It's become impossible to form any sort of meaningful relationships with people." She looked back at him before she continued. "That's what I like about you. When we met, you didn't even know my name. You treated me just like anyone else. And thanks to you, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime. I guess, you're the kind of guy I wish I was going with: Someone who just saw me for me." She looked down with a blush.

Jaune wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, "Wow. Didn't know I was all that. Not much else to say besides, will you let me have the honor of taking you to the dance?"

She looked at him with wide eyes. He was just giving her a genuine smile and was waiting for her response. She hugged him close. "That would be lovely!" She said excitedly. He chuckled and hugged her back. She pulled back a bit before she looked at him, "But, won't Yang and Blake mind?"

Jaune shook his head, "Nah, they'll be okay with it. In fact…" he looked away in thought before he turned back to her. He started speaking nervously, "Hey, Pyr. When we get back to the room, can we talk about something important?"

Pyrrha looked at him confused but nodded, "I don't see why not."

"Great." Jaune said and stood up, "Um, I'm gonna put my gear away and go for a walk as a cool down. I'll meet you back at the dorm." He got up and made his way to the locker rooms without waiting for her answer. He quickly placed his swords and armor in his locker before he left for his night walk. He was extremely nervous about telling Pyrrha. Unlike with Blake and Yang, he had so much more to lose with her if things went south. Not only was she his friend but she was also a member of his team and moreover, his partner, he didn't want to lose her. As he was walking he heard someone around a corner. He recognized the voice as Weiss'.

"Neptune!" he heard her say and he instantly regretted coming this way.

"Oh, uh, hey, what's up?" He heard him respond.

Weiss continued, "I know this is a little unorthodox, but I wanted to ask you something." There's a pause before she continues, "Would you like to accompany me to the dance tomorrow."

Jaune's heart fell slightly, but he resolved himself. 'If she's happy…' he thought.

He started to turn to leave until he heard Neptune's response. "Uh, thank you for the offer Weiss but I'm gonna have to say no. I'm sorry."

Jaune froze and was just stunned. 'Did he really just say that?!' he shouted in his head.

"Oh, I s-see. W-well, I'm s-sorry for bothering you. I hope you have a good night." He heard Weiss speak in a shaky voice before he heard her walking away or rather running.

Jaune had enough. He walked around the corner and towards Neptune. He turned to Jaune. "Oh, Jaune! Hey, what's going-" he was stopped when Jaune grabbed the front the of his shirt and slam him against the wall. He grunted in pain, "Dude, what's wrong?" he asked shocked.

"Shut up." Was all Jaune said and Neptune started sweating. "What were you thinking?"

"Huh?" Neptune asked, both afraid and confused.

"Do you even care about the girls you're hitting on? How they feel about you? How could you just turn her down like that?" His aura started to flare a bit now. "Weiss Schnee asked you to the dance. What in the world could possibly keep you from saying yes?" His tone told Neptune it better be a good excuse.

Neptune nervously started speaking, "I can't dance!"

Jaune's aura stopped flaring out of shock, "What?"

"I can't dance, man!" he said ashamed.

"You would rather break a girl's heart and go to a dance alone than just admit to someone you can't dance?" he asked confused.

Neptune didn't make eye contact, "That about sums it up, yeah."

Jaune let go of him and placed his hand over his eyes before running down his face. He sighed, "Oum. That is so stupid."

"Please don't tell anybody. Look, if you want Weiss, she's all yours. I don't wanna get in your way." He pleaded.

Jaune's aura spiked slightly, "First, Weiss is _not_ a possession." He then calmed down, "Do you like her?"

He was quiet for a while, "Yeah, I mean I don't know her too well yet, but she seems pretty cool."

Jaune sighed before he resolved himself again, "Then go talk to her." He looked back to him. "No pickup lines, no suave moves, just be yourself. If you talk to her and if you decide to go with her to the dance, it'll make her night."

He started to walk away but stopped when he heard Neptune speak, "Why are you doing this? You clearly like her, so why are you just giving up?"

Jaune looked up at the moon as he answered, "My relationships at this point are very complicated. They could cause more pain than they are worth. And with Weiss, it could go very bad. I want her to be happy above all else, even if I have to sacrifice my own happiness. So, if you make her happy, why wouldn't I let her go?" he turned back to him so he could see the sincerity in his eyes.

Neptune was shocked but soon smiled, "Thanks. You're a cool guy, Jaune." He held out this fist and Jaune smiled before bumping it.

"Just one thing, Neptune." He said with a smile and his aura flared, "Break her heart and I may have to break you." Jaune could hear him swallow and slowly nod. Jaune started to walk away and he just looked down. 'If she's happy….' Is all he thought as he made his way back to his dorm.

Once Jaune was back, he opened the dorm to find none of his teammates there. He shrugged before he took off his hoodie and hung it on his chair for tomorrow. He took off his gloves and belt and put them onto his desk. He walked over to his closet and started to grab his clothes for the night. He was about to jump in the shower when someone knocked on the door. He left his clothes on his bed before he opened it to reveal his girlfriends. He smiled, "Hey. What's up?"

"Weiss is kinda upset. She was rejected and we were hoping you could do something." Yang said.

Jaune sighed, "I already did." They both looked confused. "Come in and I'll explain." He started to walk to his bed and the two of them walked in and closed the door. He sat down on his bed. "Weiss asked Neptune to the dance and he said no. I overheard and I 'convinced' him to talk to her. They'll most likely be going to the dance now." He tried to sound cheery but it still had sad undertones to it.

Blake and Yang exchanged looks before Yang sat down on his left and Blake on his right. "Why didn't you just ask Weiss and tell her?" Blake asked.

Jaune sighed and looked down. "I don't think it'd work out. Even if she was okay with our arrangement, she's still the heiress of the SDC. She has an image to keep up. In the long run, a relationship with me would just cause her a lot of pain. Besides, all of your girls' happiness is more important to me than my own."

Blake started to rub his back, "That's very honorable, Jaune."

Yang leant her head against his shoulder, "And at least, you still have us."

Jaune smiled, "Yeah. Still don't know how an idiot like me ended up with you two amazing girls as girlfriends." He was then slapped on the back of the head by both of them. "Ow! What was that for?"

"We're tired of you looking down on yourself. So now every time you do, we are gonna smack you." Yang stated matter of fact.

"Great. Brain damage now." He sighed. He felt Blake gently grab his face before turning him to her and kissing him. He started to kiss back and held her closer. Jaune gently suckled on her lips before the two started to make out until Blake suddenly broke it off. Jaune was confused until Yang moved his face to her's and started to do the same. Jaune took the opportunity to suck on her tongue when she wasn't expecting it. Jaune wasn't sure how this was happening but decided to not question it. He broke off the kiss with Yang and went back to Blake. As they were kissing Jaune removed her bow and started to scratch and rub her ears. She instantly started to moan into the kiss and he could feel her purring as well. He grinned at this but jumped slightly when he felt Yang kissing the left side of his neck. He started to suck on Blake's tongue just as he felt Yang gently bite his neck to leave a love bite. Jaune groaned at this and caused more vibrations to Blake's tongue, which caused her to moan more. The two separated to breathe and Jaune turned to Yang. "You're marking me now?"

Yang just smirked before she took off her scarf, "Now we match." She said teasingly.

"You are gonna get it." Jaune said huskily.

"Bring it on, Hero." Yang responded. Jaune closed the gap again and kissed her. He started to suckle on her lips as well. At this point he could feel the differences between Blake's and Yang's lips and tongues. He grinned before he started to make out with Yang. He started to run his finger through her hair and she moaned in appreciation as she ran her hands across his toned chest. Jaune then felt Blake licking the right side of his neck now. He chuckled as he continued to kiss Yang until he felt her bite his neck to leave her own love bite. But much harder. He groaned and separated from Yang.

He turned to Blake, "You too, Kitten?"

She just gave him a catty grin before speaking, "Can't let her be the only one."

Jaune nodded slightly, "True. Which means…" Jaune quickly reached for her scarf before he removed it. He then started to suck on the right side of Blake's neck. She started to moan instantly as she ran her fingers through his hair and more so after he started to lick her neck. He soon bit down gently and she gasped while pulling his hair slightly. Jaune then stopped and gently kissed her love bite. Before looking into her eyes and smiling. "Now you have your own."

She smiled at him before she dropped her hands to the hem of his black t-shirt, which were joined by Yang's. He looked and saw that she had discarded her tan jacket when he was preoccupied. The two pulled his shirt over his head and took in his toned figure. They noticed the scar that ran across his chest and both gently ran their hands across it, curious how it'd feel. Until they saw the scar from the bullet wound and both stared wide eyed. Jaune gently moved their heads to his shoulders as he stroked their hair. "It's okay. This scar is nothing. Yes, I may have almost died but this scar just proves how much I would do for you girls. So, instead of thinking of it as a mistake, think of it as a symbol of how much I love you." He then kissed Blake's cat ear and the top of Yang's head.

He felt them smile and both kiss the shoulder they were leaning on. They then kissed the love bites they gave him before finally kissing his cheeks. He smiled and soon Yang pushed him down onto the bed and started to resume making out with him. He returned the favor with just as much passion. Blake started to kiss his chest before she kissed and gently licked the old scar that ran across his chest. Jaune never had felt something like this before and he shuddered slightly when she did. Jaune had his left hand on the right side of Yang's waist but he felt Yang place her hand on his own. She soon moved his hand up to her right breast and squeezed it with her hand. Jaune's eyes shot open but soon closed again. He started to gently knead her breast and she started to moan more. She separated and moaned louder.

Blake took her turn and started to make out with Jaune next and he gave her just as much attention as Yang. Yang was now kissing his chest like Blake but was extremely gently with his new scar. The skin was still somewhat sensitive so he shuddered even from the gentlest touch. He kept massaging her breast in appreciation. While this was happening, Blake was moving Jaune's other hand from the left side of her waist to her left butt cheek. He started to massage it as well and she was soon moaning as much as Yang. Jaune soon took the opportunity to pinch Yang's hardened nipple, through her shirt and bra, and squeeze Blake's ass at the same time. Both girls separated and moaned very loudly.

Both gave him a half lidded expression before both started to kiss his lips. Jaune just accepted the love he was receiving from the two gorgeous women and he kept massaging them. He could feel Yang place her left hand on his chest and Blake doing the same with her right. The slowly started to run their hands down his chest and stomach to his jeans.

That's when they heard the gasp. They separated and all turned to see Pyrrha standing in the doorway. She was staring wide eyed and had her hands over her mouth. Yang and Blake didn't know what to do. Jaune was just shocked but finally found his voice, "Pyrrha…." Was all he could say. Her eyes started to water and tears started to fall as she turned and ran away from the dorm. Jaune quickly stood up and ran to the door. "Pyrrha, wait!" he shouted down the hall but she was already gone. He looked down and just felt terrible. Things could not get any worse.

"Jaune? Why are you shirtless? And what did you do to your neck?" Jaune's eyes widened as he turned to see Nora and Ren looking at him. They soon looked into the dorm and saw Yang and Blake still laying on his bed. Their eyes widened before looking back at him.

Things just got worse.


	45. Speaking from the Heart

It took a few minutes to calm down Nora and Ren, mostly Nora, after them walking in on what they did. He told them he'd explain everything once he talked with Yang and Blake. They accepted and went into the room to wait. Yang and Blake were standing in the hallway, with their clothes they discarded back on. Both looked at Jaune sadly and Yang spoke up, "Jaune, we're so sorry for that."

Blake nodded, "We didn't mean to take it that far or for Pyrrha to see that."

Jaune brought them both into a hug and rested his chin on both of their heads. "It's not your fault, girls. You we're trying to make me feel better after the Weiss situation and I was as much a part of it as you were. I appreciate what you two did. Thank you." He kissed both their heads and smiled at them as they looked up, "But don't get used to that. That's as far as we're going to go for quite some time." Yang gave a halfhearted pout and Blake looked away with a bashful look on her face.

Blake looked back to him, "You sure you don't want a hand with Ren and Nora?"

Jaune shook his head, "Nah, I'm good. You two should get some sleep. The dance _is_ tomorrow." He smiled again. "I love you. Both of you."

They both smiled back, "I love you too." They said in sync. They kissed his cheeks and went into their dorm. Jaune stood there for a second, as his smile fell he sighed before going back into his dorm. He walked in and saw Ren calmly sitting on his bed while Nora was pacing slightly. She looked like she was going to shout something but Jaune just put up his hand.

"I need a shower. I'll explain right after. Promise." They nodded and Jaune took his clothes into the bathroom. He just looked into the mirror as he waited for the shower to heat up. He just kept staring at his reflection in disgust. 'Good job, jackass. The person you were most concerned about talking to was the one that found out in the worst way possible. You'll be lucky for her to talk to you again and there is no way your relationship will be the same.' He sighed to himself and had to stop himself from punching his own reflection. He got undressed and jumped into the shower. When he was done, he threw on his tank top and shorts and exited the bathroom still drying his hair. He laid his towel around his neck when he was done to hide the love bites the best he could. He saw Ren still sitting on his bed and Nora now sitting next to him. He was still stoic but Nora looked annoyed. He sighed again before he walked over to sit down on Nora's bed to face them. "Where do you want me to start?"

Nora looked like she was about to go off but Ren put a hand on her shoulder to calm her. He soon started to talk, "What happened, Jaune? What happened with Pyrrha?"

Jaune looked down before looking back up, "I hurt her. Badly. She walked in on me with Blake and Yang. She ran before I could explain."

"Explain what?!" Nora shouted. "Jaune, what the hell is going on?!"

Jaune was taken back. Nora rarely ever cursed. Another sign on how much he screwed up. "I guess; I'll tell you both what I was going to tell Pyrrha." He looked away. "Not like it matters now." He turned back to Nora and Ren, "I'm dating Blake and Yang."

Both were shocked to say the least. Neither said a word and Jaune didn't want to break the silence. He was waiting for them to speak. He readjusted the towel on his neck. "That explains a lot." Ren spoke up and Nora was just staring at him wide eyed. "How'd that happen?"

Jaune sighed, "That is rather complicated." He leant back and looked up at the ceiling to organize his thoughts. He noticed Ren and Nora exchanging looks from his peripheral vision but he was only paying half attention. He saw Nora move a bit but didn't really register it. "It started towards the end of last semester. After the incident at the docks, Blake told me she had feelings for me. She knew I wasn't ready for a relationship so she gave me space. Then after our end of semester sleepover, Yang told me she also had feelings for me. I was so conflicted. I wasn't looking for a relationship and suddenly found out that two of my friends had feelings for me, it was a shock to say the least."

"So, you decided to date both of them?" Nora asked with her head tilted.

Jaune looked back to her and shook his head, "Not at first. I eventually vented to Mom about this with one of my calls home. She told me to listen to my heart and that the family would accept anyone I fell for. Even if it was more than one person."

Both were shocked again. "Mother Arc told you to have a harem?" Ren asked.

Jaune shrugged, "More or less. I didn't even consider it at first. But as time went on, I soon figured out that I had fallen in love with both Yang and Blake. And to make things more complicated, I found out I also fell for Pyrrha, Ruby and Weiss." The two looked into his eyes and they saw he was telling the truth. Jaune didn't throw the word love around. If he was saying this, he meant it with all of his heart. "I wasn't sure what to do. I tried to figure out if I loved any of them any more than the rest but that was a flop. I could never place one above the others. I didn't want to be with one of them if it meant hurting the others. So, I was going to resign myself to not telling them and try to bury my feelings."

The two looked at him sadly. "What changed then?" Ren asked.

Jaune gave a small chuckle but there was little humor in it. "The night before the second semester started, the night Blake had that nightmare, I accidentally slipped. I told Blake that I loved her and that she wasn't the only one I loved. I also told her what Mom said. I wanted to show her why she should give up on me but it had the opposite effect. She actually agreed to it. She told me that as long as I treated them all with respect and love, it could work." He had a small smile. "It felt good. Being with someone I loved, I had nearly forgotten what that felt like."

Ren had a small smile. Seeing Jaune look like that was refreshing and something he hadn't seen in a long time, "That's when you decided to try being with all five of them?"

"Kinda. I decided to tell them each how I felt about them and explain the circumstances. If they agreed to it then I would do everything I could to make them happy. And if they decided that they weren't okay with it, I'd let them go." He looked down at the floor, "They're happiness is more important than my own. Plus, I can't help but worry that if they are with me then eventually they'll just get hurt anyways."

"So, when did you talk to Yang?" Nora asked. She was getting some of her usual chipper back. She was leaning back on her arms while talking, almost like she was hiding something from him, but Jaune didn't bother to question it.

Jaune sighed, "That was the night I got shot." He said bluntly and the two of them shuddered a bit at the memory. "Actually, it was just before the Paladin showed up. After I came back that night after I woke up, she told me she wanted to be with me as well." He smiled slightly again, "That's how I ended up with two of the most gorgeous girls I know as girlfriends."

Nora chuckled slightly but soon stopped and Ren spoke up again, "So, why haven't you told the others yet?"

Jaune rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "We wanted to keep our relationship quiet until I could talk to all of them. But, I've been hesitant with the other three because I have the most to lose with them. Weiss doesn't trust easily and I don't want her to think I'm abusing it. Ruby has become the best friend I could've asked for. And Pyrrha, she's my partner. Someone I've come to trust completely. Doing the wrong thing could not only damage that relationship but our team as a whole. And I already handled it poorly." He said sadly.

"Is that what happened tonight?" Nora asked.

Jaune nodded, "I was going to tell Pyrrha all of this tonight. But when I was out for a walk, I heard Weiss ask Neptune out. So, I decided to let her go." He said in a sadder tone. "I was kinda emotional. Yang and Blake came over and they tried to make me feel better. Me being emotional made me not think clearly. We went farther than we should've and Pyrrha walked in." he stopped talking for a while. Nora and Ren didn't say anything. "So, I essentially screwed any chance with Pyrrha and ruined our friendship." He placed his hand over his eyes. "Honestly, I'd be lucky if she ever speaks to me again."

They were quiet again before Nora spoke in a cheery tone, "Maybe. But we have a way to help." Jaune looked at her and saw she had her scroll out and a call currently going on with Pyrrha's scroll.

Jaune's eyes went wide. "How long has that call been going on for?"

"Since you said things were complicated." Nora said cheerfully.

Jaune just turned to Ren. He shrugged, "It was her idea. I just agreed to it."

Jaune just fell back onto the bed. "Has she been listening the entire time?"

"Nope. It went to her voicemail. But she'll probably listen to it." Nora said.

Jaune placed a hand over his eyes. "I don't know whether to feel betrayed or grateful." He slid his hand off of his eyes and just looked at the ceiling. "Maybe with that, she'll at least talk to me and we can still be friends."

"You never know, Jaune. Maybe she'll agree to the relationship." Ren added.

"I'm not gonna hold my breathe." Jaune said with a sigh. "If she did have feelings for me, seeing that would've torn her heart out."

He was just gonna mope until Nora belly flopped onto him, knocking the air out of him, and pulled him in a bear hug. "It'll be fine, Fearless Leader."

He looked down at her, "How are you happy? I was sure you'd be mad that I hurt Pyrhha."

Nora looked up at him, "Oh, I am. But I'm gonna wait before deciding on breaking your legs." She smiled her usual smile, "Beside, I'm just happy you've opened your heart again."

Jaune smiled and gently returned the hug, "Yeah. It feels great." He looked between his two honorary siblings. "Can you two keep this a secret? I don't want anyone to know until everything is settled, one way or the other." Ren nodded in response and Nora just booped him. He smiled and the three decided to head to bed.

* * *

When Jaune woke up he looked towards Pyrrha's bed. It was the same as yesterday. Pyrrha didn't return last night. Jaune was worried. He knew Pyrrha could handle herself but it didn't help in the slightest. He got up and freshened up. He noticed the love bites again and he had to come up with something to hide them. He went into his closest and found the shirt that Velvet and Coco got for him. He couldn't bring himself to just throw it out. The sleeves were burnt off, so it was like a skin tight, sleeveless shirt now. But it did extend to cover his neck. Luckily, he did sow the bullet holes a while back. He pulled the shirt on and his usual blue jeans before he threw on his silver hoodie along with it. He left for the cafeteria to get breakfast afterwards.

He arrived to see both of his girlfriends already there. They were in the middle of a conversation and didn't see him. The cafeteria was empty and he got an idea along with a devious smile. He started to silently moved towards them. He managed to get behind Yang when he saw Blake's bow twitch slightly. This was his last chance. He quickly wrapped his arms around Yang's stomach, just below her breasts and pulled her into a hug. She yelled slightly and looked like she was going to punch him but as she turned her head, he kissed her gently. She relaxed after a second and put her fist down. He broke the kiss and gave her his usual smile. "Morning, Sun Fire."

She smiled back, "Morning, Jauney. You should be careful. I almost knocked your block off."

"Wouldn't be the first time." He let her go of her and went to Blake. "Morning, Kitten."

She smiled at him, "Good morning, Jaune." He leant down and kissed her which she returned. When they broke apart he gently started to pet her head and she purred slightly, leaning into his touch more.

He smiled at both of them, "I'm just gonna grab a bite and I'll be back." They nodded and Jaune left to grab his usual light breakfast and coffee. As he sat down across from them, he noticed that he didn't see Blake's love bite. Yang was wearing her scarf and Blake was also wearing her usual scarf, but that wouldn't be able to cover it completely. He looked closer and saw she had makeup on. He smirked, "So, that's what you had to do to hide it."

Blake looked at him confused until she saw where he was looking and she blushed, "If I tied my scarf to cover more of my neck it would've been suspicious. The only other thing I could think of was your hoodie but that would be just as suspicious, if not more so."

Jaune nodded, "True. After everything is settled, you can have it whenever you want."

She looked at him in surprise, "Really?"

"Yup. I only wear it with my combat gear at this point so you could have it if you wanted."

Blake looked extremely happy at this. Yang looked at him hurt, "If she gets your hoodie, what do I get?"

Jaune thought for a bit before he shrugged, "I'm not sure. What do you want?" Yang just gave him a sultry smile and waggled her eyebrows. Jaune just looks at her. "Nope. Told you you're gonna wait on that." He took a sip of his coffee.

She leant over the table to both tempt him and get closer. "Come on. You can't say you're not interested." She said teasingly.

Jaune avoided the view and looked her in the eyes, "I'm interested but I already told you, I'm in no rush. We haven't been together all that long and rushing into _that_ could just hurt our relationship. I'd rather avoid that possibility." He said with a smile.

Yang looked at him and smiled at that. She sat down and gave a fake pout, "You're no fun."

Jaune just shrugged and started to eat his breakfast. "By the way, I had to explain everything to Ren and Nora. Don't worry, they'll keep us a secret." They nodded at that.

Soon, the other members of JNPR and RWBY joined them, except Pyrrha. Weiss asked where she was and Jaune gave the excuse that she went for a morning jog. Weiss and Ruby accepted it. Jaune was still worried about Pyrrha and was just hoping that she'd be back at some point today. As if on cue, the cafeteria doors opened and there was Pyrrha. She looked around and saw Jaune. They made eye contact and Pyrrha motioned her head to the door. Jaune nodded and got up. "I need to talk with Pyrrha, partner stuff. See you all later. If not, then at the dance." They nodded and he went to Pyrrha.

Pyrrha lead the way and Jaune was a few steps behind her. Neither said a word. Soon they were standing on the roof where they'd spar on occasions. They stood near the edge and just looked over the view in front of them. He started to remember the times they watched the sunrise from this exact spot. Jaune wanted to say something, anything, but he didn't know what to say to her. So, he had no choice but to wait for her to speak first. A few minutes later, she did. "Is it all true?" he looked over to her and she was facing him with her scroll out.

"Yes." He simply stated.

She nodded, "Was it your idea to leave the voicemail?" she asked next.

Jaune shook his head, "No. Nora did it when I wasn't paying attention and only found out afterwards."

She looked over the view again. Jaune just did the same. He felt it was better for this to be on her terms. So, he waited for her to speak again. "When?" she said this just above a whisper. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. She was looking down and had a slight blush. "When did you fall for me?" she asked nervously.

Jaune looked over the view again and answered, "I'm not sure. I've tried to pinpoint when I started to love you and I can't find it." He shrugged, "I think I slowly fell for you after you became my partner but I wasn't looking for love so it was hidden from me until I was willing to listen." He sighed. "I finally realized my feelings during the fight with Kuro. When I was down, I remembered all the time we shared together and I just felt my chest getting warm and I knew how I felt. That gave me the power to stand and win."

They were quiet again. Pyrrha was just absorbing all of this. "Pyrrha. I hurt you so badly. I can barely imagine what you went through. But know, I'm sorry. From the bottom of my heart, I'm truly sorry. And if you can forgive me somewhere down the line, I hope we can be friends again." He looked down as he was saying this.

He heard her heels getting closer to him and braced himself for the worse. She felt her grab his face and lift it. 'Great. She's going to slap me or punch me. Well, can't say I blame her.'

He looked into her eyes as she closed them and the distance to kiss him with so much love behind the kiss. His eyes widened before he closed them as he wrapped his arms around her and he soon returned it with as much love as he could. He wanted to show her how sorry he was and how much he truly felt for her. They pulled away and blue met green. She smiled at him before speaking, "Took you long enough to tell me. I've loved you almost since the moment we met."

Jaune was shocked, "That long?" she just nodded with a blush. "Wow. I must really be oblivious." She giggled at this and he chuckled. "So, um, does this mean you wanna give this a shot?" He asked nervously.

She nodded, "I would love to." She said happily.

Jaune smiled but it fell as he stopped looking into her eyes, "Are you sure, Pyr? I mean you're Pyrrha Nikos. You could do so much better, be with someone who will love you and only you."

Pyrrha still held his face and made him look her in the eyes. He could see how serious she was, "There is no one better, Jaune. I told you last night, you're who I want to be with. Not someone that loves Pyrrha Nikos the champion but Pyrrha Nikos the girl. Even if I do have to share you with a few other women, at least they are all my friends and this will make us closer." She smiled warmly at him. "I want to do something for me for once. So please, Jaune, accept what I'm going to say next." She took a deep breath before saying those four words, "I love you, Jaune."

Jaune smiled and he felt so happy, "I love you, Pyrrha." The two kissed again to seal the deal. The separated when they needed air and just smiled at each other. "Well, now what?" he asked with a smirk.

She giggled a bit, "I wouldn't mind some breakfast and to relax with my new boyfriend. Especially with the dance later."

"You got it." He smiled warmly and they made their way to the cafeteria again. Jaune got coffee as Pyrrha grabbed her breakfast. They sat down in their normal spots but were closer together than normal. Ruby and Weiss missed this but not the others. Nora had a huge smile on her face and Ren had a normal smile. Yang and Blake looked at the two and both raised an eyebrow, asking the question. Pyrrha looked away slightly with a blush and Jaune just smiled with a small nod. They both understood and returned the smile. 'This may be completely unorthodox but as long as they trust me, I'll prove to them every day that I'm worthy of it.' Now the only thing left was to get ready for the dance. With his three dates. It was gonna be a long night.


	46. Dance Dance Confirmation

Shortly after breakfast, Jaune found himself being dragged away by Pyrrha. He had no idea where she was taking him but decided to not ask her. He'd find out eventually. Soon he found himself in front of his dorm room. He was confused until Pyrrha opened the door and pulled him in. She shut the door before dragging him over to her bed. She had him sit at the head of her bed, leaning against the head board before she sat next to him. She wrapped her arms around his left arm and leaned her head on his shoulder. She gave a sigh of contentment Jaune just smiled at her. "This is what you wanna do today?"

She looked at him and nodded. "I didn't sleep very well last night. I want to relax and maybe take a little nap. You don't mind staying with me, do you?" She was trying to imitate Ruby's puppy eyes now; it was good but not Ruby tier.

Jaune just smirked and he gently poked her in the forehead, "Again, puppy eyes don't work on me and all you had to do was ask." She smiled beautifully and Jaune reached over and took the novel he was reading off the nightstand. He opened to the bookmarked page and started reading. Pyrrha kissed him on the cheek before she snuggled up to him. They stayed like that for a bit until Jaune spoke again, "Where were you last night?"

Pyrrha answered while keeping her eyes closed, "I stayed the night in a hotel in Vale. I wanted some space after yesterday. That's part of why I didn't sleep well."

Jaune put his book down and started to stroke her hair, "Sorry again, Pyr."

She slowly shook her head, "It's okay, Jaune." She sighed, "It's in the past." She looked up at him with another happy smile, "Besides, it all worked out very well." Jaune smiled at her before gently holding her chin with his thumb and index finger then he leant down and kissed her. She returned the sweet, chaste kiss. They separated and went back to relaxing. She fell asleep a few minutes later and Jaune stayed with her the entire time. A few times Yang or Blake would message him and he'd explain what was going on. Both just told him to have fun and that they'd see him at the dance. Ren and Nora showed up and they all just relaxed for the remainder of the time they had before the dance.

Soon it was time for them to get ready for the dance. Jaune dressed in his suit but the only problem was his neck. He was looking in the mirror at the two love bites he had. He was wondering what he'd do about them until a voice spoke up, "Need a hand?" Jaune looked to see Pyrrha standing in the doorway to the bathroom.

He turned to her, "Yeah. I have no idea on what to do about these." He said indicating his neck.

She shook her head slightly with a small smile and walked over to him, "Come here. I'll help you." He did as he was told. She had him lift his head enough so she could start applying some concealer to his neck. Jaune chuckled a bit due to it tickling his neck. It kept happening, but he had no idea if that was normal or if it was Pyrrha's doing. "All done." He heard her say.

He looked into the mirror and saw that the bites were covered up and you'd only tell if you were close and looking directly at it. He smiled and turned to her, "Thanks, Pyr."

"Anytime, Jaune. Now, can you and Ren wait outside while me and Nora get ready?" She asked.

Jaune bowed, "As you wish, milady." He said in a gentlemanly tone. She giggled and he left with Ren. The two just waited outside the dorm and just had some small talk. A while later, their door opened to reveal Nora and Pyrrha. Both had to admit they looked gorgeous. "How do we look?!" Nora asked cheerfully.

Jaune smiled and patted her head gently so to not mess up her hair. "You look beautiful, Nora." She smiled and he turned to Pyrrha and just stared. She blushed and looked away slightly. He then walked over to her and took her hand. He kissed the back of it and smiled at her, "You look gorgeous."

She blushed more. "Thank you." She said with a mix of pride and nervousness. He held his arm to her and she wrapped her's around it and the four of them made their way to the ballroom. They were all getting stares from various people. Pyrrha more than the rest. Most were ignored but a few that lingered too long got a hard glare from Jaune. That made them hurry on due to the rumors about him still circulating. They soon made it to the door and walked in.

They were greeted by Yang standing at the podium. She looked at them and smiled, "About time you guys made it. Especially you, Hero. Have any idea how many people I had to bat away?"

He shrugged at that. "Probably the usual. Anyone step out of line?" he said with a hint of an edge.

"Aww, so protective. Another reason I love you." She kissed his cheek but anyone who saw promptly turned away. They were not about to incur the wrath of Jaune and/or Yang. "And no, they know better. Anyways, I still have to do this for a bit. The others are somewhere, waiting for you guys. Better save a dance for me."

He smiled, "Absolutely." They all walked in and soon found the rest of RWBY along with Sun and Neptune. "Hey guys." He greeted.

They all returned it and Sun spoke up, "What took you so long? I had to protect Blake while you were away." He said with a smirk. Blake rolled her eyes playfully. The two had become friends and were pretty cool with each other now.

Jaune gave his own smirk. "Oh please. Blake could hold her own without help. Besides, I had to escort my partner as well." He put his arm around Pyrrha and she blushed slightly. Sun looked between them and raised an eyebrow. Jaune just nodded. Sun's eyes widened before he sighed with a smile as he shook his head.

"So, you actually gonna dance or you just gonna sit around?" Sun asked him.

"I plan on dancing. Gotta show some of my skills; besides the ones on the battlefield." He smirked.

"So you can dance? Wanna prove it?" Sun asked with a competitive smirk.

"Against you? No way. It would be so unfair, for you." He returned the smirk.

"Oh really? Wanna put your money where your mouth is?"

"Bring it." The two just stared each other down, barely a few inches separated them and the rest of the group was just looking between the two. That was until Nora took a deep breath and shouted, "Dance off!" the classical music that was playing stopped along with all the conversations happening. Soon the DJ started playing a track you'd hear at a club and everyone started to look at Sun and Jaune. The started to bop their heads to the beat of the music. Soon Yang started to yell above the music. "This is my song!" As the melody started the two competitors jumped back from each other and started to dance. Sun using a type of break dance that looked a lot like some of his fighting moves. Jaune was also using a similar style of dance to stay even with Sun.

Everyone was staring in shock at the skill of the two before the cheery bomber broke them out of their stupors, "Show him what you got, Fearless Leader!" Blake, Ruby, Ren and Pyrrha soon added their own cheers for Jaune while Neptune started to cheer for Sun. Weiss was conflicted but soon started to cheer on Jaune. Soon the rest of the students were cheering for either of them. The music started to increase in tempo and both started dancing faster and started to show off more of their skills. Sun started to spin on the floor on his back before he flipped to his feet. Jaune smiled before throwing his jacket to Blake before doing the exact same move as the blonde Faunus.

When the rap started the two started to pull every move they had in their skillset, trying to outmatch the other. Both were even however and the cheers they were receiving were just amping them up more. They knew that the end was coming and had an idea on how to finish this. They looked at each other's eyes and nodded. They ran at each other and jumped into the air. They each put out their feet and kicked off of the other before doing a backflip and landing in a crouch with their fists on the ground. The music ended at that and everyone was quiet. The only sound you could hear was the two of them breathing raggedly. Soon the whole ballroom erupted into cheers and whistles. The two stood and smiled before walking over to the other and bro hugging.

"Good job, man. You are skilled." Sun said to him as they separated with a smile.

Jaune smiled back, "You too, dude, I had to use a lot of my best moves against you." The two shared a laugh and when the commotion went down, the dance started to continue as it was before.

Blake came over and handed him his jacket, "A bit of a showoff but very impressive. You look handsome by the way." She said with a small smile.

He smiled back as he was putting his jacket back on, "Thank you. You look beautiful, Blake."

She was still smiling but now had a slight blush, "Thank you."

Soon Pyrrha and the others joined him and they noticed a few of the students were now slow dancing. Jaune looked at his two dates. "Either of you wanna dance?"

The two nodded and looked at each other. They had a silent conversation until Blake spoke up, "Pyrrha can go first. I can go afterwards." They nodded and Jaune escorted Pyrrha onto the dance floor before they started to slow dance. Both thoroughly enjoyed their time together with their new boyfriend/girlfriend. When the song ended, they broke apart and Jaune kissed the back of her hand. She giggled and left the dance floor as Blake took her place. The two danced as well and Jaune couldn't help but stare at Blake. The dress she was wearing just made her seem more beautiful than usual. When that song was done, a faster song was playing and Yang came up to them.

"Pyrrha offered to take over for me for a bit. Still have enough energy for my turn?" She said teasingly.

Jaune just smirked at her, "Always, Sun Fire." The two than enjoyed their dance together. Jaune had to admit, she was a great dancer and her dress was simple but complimented her beauty very well. After they were done, Yang gave him another kiss on the cheek before returning to the podium. Jaune needed a rest and decided to leave the dance floor. He saw Weiss and Blake over with Sun and Neptune. He decided that was probably not a good idea. He then saw Ren and Nora off to the side with Pyrrha. He was about to join them when he saw Ruby off by herself at the punch bowl. He walked over to her and grabbed his own drink. "Hiding out by the punch bowl?" he said with a smirk.

Ruby looked at him, "Yep. I heard what you did for Weiss, thank you." She said with a smile.

Jaune looked at her confused, "Yang told you?" she nodded. He sighed, "Yeah, well, it seemed like the right thing to do." He said as he drank some of his punch.

Ruby looked at him with that same smile, "Maybe but that doesn't mean you're not a good guy."

Jaune just smiled, "So, interested in a dance?"

Ruby almost did a spit take before she collected herself. She looked at him wide eyed, "Are you asking me to dance?" He just nodded with his usual smile. She looked away with a blush, "Thanks, Jaune, but I've never been the fancy, pantsy, dancey girl."

"Maybe but you should at least have one dance. Kinda the name of the whole thing."

She looked around, looking for an excuse, "It would be cool but I'm not used to these lady stilts. I would just embarrass you."

Jaune just placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and she looked at him, "Ruby, you're just making excuses." She looked down slightly, "If you don't wanna dance, that's fine. I just want you to enjoy your night." He smiled at her.

She kept looking down for a while until she looked up at him, "Just one dance?"

He looked at her, "If that's all you're comfortable with, yup." He held his hand out to her and she took it. He led her out to the dance floor and they started to slow dance. Ruby was stumbling in her heels until Jaune got an idea and whispered it into her ear. She had a huge smile before she kicked them off to the side and stood on his feet. She enjoyed herself significantly more now. Jaune just smiled down at her and he couldn't look away from her eyes. She was very happy right now and that made her silver eyes so much more stunning. "You're absolutely beautiful."

She blushed redder than her cloak and looked down. "You're just saying that to be nice. I'm nowhere close to Yang or Pyrrha or Blake. And don't get me started on Weiss." She said sadly.

"Ruby." He said gently. She looked up at him and she saw a deep sense of caring in his eyes. "Have I ever lied to you?" She looked at his chest and she shook her head. "So, why would I lie now? You're beautiful, Ruby Rose, and I won't let you think otherwise." She looked at him with the blush still intact and a huge smile. She kissed his cheek and leaned into his chest as they finished her dance. Jaune picked her up bridal style and she blushed further. He sat her down in a chair close to her heels. He was about to sit next to her when someone tapped him on his shoulder.

He turned to see Weiss standing there. She seemed nervous, "Jaune, would you honor me with a dance?" He nodded with a small smile and went out to the dance floor, again. The two started dancing and Weiss spoke again, "Thank you."

Jaune tilted his head, "For what?"

"Neptune told me you were the one that convinced him to reconsider coming here with me." She said still not looking at him.

Jaune shrugged slightly, "It was no big deal, Weiss. I just wanted you to be happy."

She looked up at him. "I know. That's why I'm thanking you. But just so you know, I won't be dating Neptune."

Jaune's eyes went wide, "Really?"

She nodded, "I realized a few things lately and I just don't think he's right for me." She gained a faint blush to her cheeks. "Although, I might have someone else in mind."

Jaune gave her a small smile but felt his heart drop slightly. "Just let me know if you need me, Snow Angel, and I'll be there."

She smiled and gently kissed his cheek. She was still blushing, "I know, Jaune."

They finished their dance shortly after that. Jaune enjoyed the rest of his night. He had another dance with all of his dates, this time Yang had a slow dance, and all of JNPR performed a dance number they had prepared beforehand. Afterwards, Jaune just enjoyed his time hanging with his friends, CRDL included. He noticed Ruby was gone but he just chalked that up to her having enough of the dance. Soon JNPR and WBY had enough and decided to call it a night. When they got to their dorm, they all went in besides Yang, Blake and Jaune. He wished them good night and kissed them both. He entered his room and saw Nora and Ren already passed out. Pyrrha was in her pajamas and sitting on his bed. She was blushing and was having trouble making eye contact with him. "Would it be alright if I sleep with you tonight?" She asked nervously.

Jaune smiled, "Sure, Pyrrha. Just one thing." He went over to Nora's bed and took her scroll from her nightstand before putting it in his desk drawer. Pyrrha was looking at him confused. "We don't need her getting anymore pictures." Pyrrha nodded at that. Jaune quickly changed into his night wear before laying down and holding the blankets open for Pyrrha. Pyrrha laid down and snuggled up to him as he wrapped his arm around her. The two kissed good night before falling asleep.

* * *

 **A/N- Another chapter out! This one took a while for whatever reason but here it is. I also wanna thank all of you. When I started to write this, I thought I'd be lucky to ever reach triple digits for follows and now its at over 800! I'm just completely blown away by this. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank all of you. And I hope you keep enjoying until the end. On another note, if any of you wanna make any art, send me a PM and maybe I'll use it as the cover. That's all for now!  
**


	47. Mission Briefing

Jaune woke up the next morning at his usual time. He was about to get up when he felt someone holding onto him. He looked down and found Pyrrha snuggled up to him with the biggest smile he'd ever seen her have. He grabbed his scroll and saw they still had time before they would have to get up for their first mission. He didn't want to wake her so he just closed his eyes and laid with her.

Soon he heard someone moving on the other side of the room. He heard them start looking around for something. He opened his one eye and saw that it was Nora looking frantically for something. Jaune smirked, knowing exactly what it was. "Morning, Nora." He said in a whisper.

Nora froze instantly and slowly turned towards Jaune. She had a nervous smile and whispered back, "Morning, Jaune."

"What are you looking for?" he asked with the smirk still in place.

"Nothing really." She said with a nervous laugh.

"Really? Not looking for your scroll?" he asked knowingly.

Nora's eyes went wide at that, "How'd you know?"

"Because I'm the one that hid it from you. That way you couldn't take another picture of Pyr and I." He said with a grin.

Nora pouted and turned away, "That's mean, Jaune. Besides, the girls don't mind. They each have a copy of the pic they were in."

Jaune raised an eyebrow at that, "Really?"

Nora nodded, "Yup. They wanted a copy and they stopped bugging me about it afterwards."

Jaune just stared at her for a bit, "Okay then. How about this? I'll give you back your scroll and you send me a copy of each."

Nora thought for a second with a cheery grin, "That sounds fair."

"Alright, deal. Well, why don't we all get ready? We have our first mission today." Nora instantly nodded before she went over to Ren and pushed him out of his bed. He groaned as he hit the ground. Jaune chuckled and turned to Pyrrha. "Pyrrha." He gently shook her. She just groaned and buried herself into Jaune more. "Come on, Pyr. Time to get up."

She just sleepily said, "Five more minutes." Jaune just sighed before he leant down and kissed her. She tried to pretend to be asleep but soon she returned the kiss with a lot of love. Jaune had to break the kiss or risk having a make out session in front of Nora and Ren. He looked down at her shocked and she was looking at him with a bashful look. "Sorry. Couldn't resist. Can you wake me up like that all the time?"

Jaune just sighed before he smiled and nodded. She smiled at that and giggled. They then heard someone clear their throat and turned to see Nora and Ren looking at them with smirks. They both blushed before they all decided to get ready for the day. They all showered and dressed in their battle attire. Jaune gave Nora her scroll and he received the pics of Yang, Ruby, Blake and Pyrrha. He smiled at that and quickly saved them. They left their room and were going to leave before they decided to remind RWBY. They had a habit of being late.

Jaune was about to knock on RWBY's door but he heard the girls scream. Before he knew it, he had kicked the door in, "Girls, what's wro- " He was stopped when something covered his entire face. He then felt something wrap around his head and lower back. He couldn't see and could only feel that whatever was on his face was very soft. He placed his hands on either side of it and pulled it away. His eyes saw only a white shirt and looked up to see Blake looking down at him, wide eyed and blushing. Jaune blushed just as red after realizing the scenario of what of her's was just against his face. "Um, Blake? Why did you…?" He trailed off, not sure exactly what to say. Blake's blush faded before she spun around him and held him from behind, her arms around his chest and legs around his waist, and buried her face into his back. He was confused and looked at the rest of RWBY.

They were all just staring at the event. Yang had a devious smirk on his face which wasn't good for either Jaune or Blake. Jaune soon saw the small Corgi in Ruby's arms and raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I have a few questions. First though, where'd you get the dog?"

Ruby snapped out of her stupor and walked over to them and held him out to Jaune, "This is Zwei! Dad sent him from Patch!" she said cheerfully. Jaune thought he heard Blake growl from behind him but ignored it.

"Okay. But how?" he asked.

"The mail. How else, silly?" Ruby replied.

Jaune just stared for a bit. He sighed, "I'm not gonna ask. Well nice to meet you little guy." Jaune said cheerfully and gently pet his head. Zwei appeared to fully enjoy the affection. Nora soon ran into the room and started to fuss over him.

Blake soon moved her head to be close to his ear before she whispered, "Traitor."

Jaune chuckled before speaking barely audible so no one could hear besides her. "Sorry, Kitten. Always liked dogs." He looked at Blake from the corner of his eye and she looked grumpy at that. Jaune smiled and gently reached back to pet her head. He could feel her trying to not purr. "Don't worry. I love you more than any dog." He reached under her bow and gently rubbed her ear. She stopped resisting the urge to purr and smiled.

She kissed his cheek, "You're lucky I love you." She said as she hugged him closer from behind.

Jaune took his hand away and smiled, "I know I am." He said genuinely.

They looked back to see Weiss fussing over the dog and talking to it in baby talk. Jaune chuckled at the display. Ruby soon walked over and looked at Blake, "Blake, you don't mind that Zwei will be here for a while, right?" she asked and gave Blake the biggest puppy eyes she could muster.

Jaune smirked because he knew she'd crumble. He heard her sigh, "Just keep it away from my belongings." Ruby cheered happily before she bolted over to Zwei and held him close. They all heard Goodwitch advise all the first years to report to the amphitheater. They all said goodbye to Zwei and went to leave. Jaune was still carrying Blake on his back. Mostly because he didn't want to put her down and she wasn't really arguing about it. Ruby caught up slightly later and Jaune noticed she had a backpack. He raised an eyebrow at her when she looked at him. She brought a finger to her lips and Jaune just shrugged. They grabbed their weapons before arriving in the amphitheater. They all listened to Ozpin's speech. Hearing his words just steeled Jaune even more. This was his first step to fulfilling his dream. He clenched his fist and thought one thing before they were dismissed, 'I'll make you proud, Mother.'

JNPR went looking through all the missions and were about to accept one to shadow a sheriff from a nearby village. Jaune was about to accept the mission when he overheard Ozpin talking to RWBY about the dangers of the mission they wanted. "I doubt I'll ever find the exact answers I'm looking for. So, how about this: instead of waiting for you to break the rules, why don't we just bend them?" Ozpin tapped on his scroll and RWBY was accepted for the mission. Jaune was going to let this go, but knowing RWBY, this had something to do with the White Fang. He had little choice. He looked at Ren and Nora and gave them a look that said, 'I'm sorry' before he walked over to Ozpin.

"Teamwork and persistence have carried you this far. But the things that await you beyond the protection of the Kingdom will not care."

Jaune interrupted him at that point, "So why not balance the scales a bit more?"

They all turned to him. "And how would I do that, Mr. Arc?"

"Well, you say that the mission is too much for a team of first years but what about two? Especially, when those teams are made of the top eight students in that year."

Ozpin looked like he was thinking, "You make a compelling argument, Mr. Arc. But why do you wish to join this mission?"

Jaune looked Ozpin in the eyes with determination, "Because this is all of our first steps to becoming Huntsmen and Huntresses. And I wanna show everyone, even myself, the kind of Huntsmen I really am. Someone who'll standby his comrades and the people precious to him." He soon smirked at him, "And live up to the expectations you expect of me, Headmaster."

Ozpin grinned at him, "Very well, Mr. Arc." He tapped more on his scroll and JNPR was added to the mission. "One last thing: stay close to your Huntsman at all times, and do exactly as he says. He will be leading you on this mission, and he can send you back to Beacon, if he finds your skills to be unsatisfactory. Good luck." Was all he said as he left.

Jaune turned to RWBY, "Sorry to tag along girls but I had a feeling you're going after the White Fang." They didn't make eye contact and were looking at everything but him, trying to look innocent. Jaune smirked before he turned to his team. "Sorry about not talking to you guys first." He said sheepishly.

Ren just shook his head, "It's fine, Jaune. You'll just have to make it up to us later." He grinned.

Nora hugged him, "At least now you can't ditch us this time." She glared at him.

"Besides, the others tend to find trouble wherever they go. They might need their 'hero'." Pyrrha added in a teasing manner. Team RWBY then shouted, "HEY!" They all had a laugh before heading to the bullheads. On the way, Ruby told Jaune about the meeting she had with Ozpin, Goodwitch and Ironwood. He was a bit concerned but decided that they were probably the best people to know about this. They were brought out of their conversation when someone shouted that Team CFVY was back. They quickly made their way over to them.

"Guys!" Jaune shouted a greeting and they stopped and turned to them. Fox and Yatsuhashi waved and Coco just smiled at them. Velvet had the biggest smile she'd ever had looking at Jaune and waved at them.

Ruby got there just before the rest of them and started to rattle off a series of questions, "Are you guys okay? What happened, your mission was supposed to end a week ago? Come on! Tell us, tell us!"

Jaune placed his hand gently on her head and Yang placed a hand on her shoulder. In a calm tone they both said, "Ruby, breathe." She looked bashful and gave sheepish smile.

Velvet spoke up, "We are fine. There was just so many of them. But don't worry, you first years are just shadowing Huntsmen, you should be fine."

Coco walked over to Jaune and looked at him critically with her sunglasses pushed down. "Uh, can I help you, Coco?" he asked nervously.

"You're wearing the shirt we bought you, Arc. But I can see you sowed the chest, what did you do?" She asked.

Jaune was indeed wearing the shirt to cover up the remains of the love bites, they weren't as noticeable but still there. "Oh, right…. you guys left before it happened, so you have no idea."

"Know about what?" Coco asked.

Jaune started to scratch the back of his head nervously, "I kinda got shot."

All of CFVY looked stunned at him, until Coco and Velvet shouted, "What?!"

Jaune just nodded slightly, "Yeah. Was low on aura and it didn't go well. But, hey, I'm fine now." He said with a smile.

They all just stared at him, "How can you be so nonchalant about that?" Velvet asked worried.

Jaune shrugged, "It's in the past. Can't change what happened, just gotta learn from it and move on."

"That's mature of you, Arc." Coco said with a small smile.

Jaune sighed, "Coco, we talked about this. Call me, Jaune. Say it with me, Jaune." He enunciated his name to prove a point.

She in turn just smirked before pushing her sunglasses back on. Before gently tapping his cheek with her hand, "Nice try, Arc. See you guys later." She said teasingly and slowly walked away with a noticeable sway in her hips.

Jaune just shook his head in exasperation before Velvet walked in front of him. "We better go." She gently hugged him, "Stay save, Jaune." She said before she broke the hug with a blush, "The rest of you too." And she went to catch up to Coco. The other two just nodded to them and went to catch up to the other half of their team.

Jaune turned back to the rest of them and the girls, excluding Nora, were giving him looks. "Uh, I'll see you guys there!" he grabbed Raikiri's handle and quickly shot off in a burst of lightning. They were all stunned by that until Nora started rolling on the floor laughing, literally, and Ren had a hand over his mouth trying to stifle his own laughter.

They all found Jaune a few minutes later, standing by where they needed to go and looking a bit disheartened. They were about to ask him what was wrong but Dr. Oobleck zoomed over to them and they got their answer. "Well, hello everyone! Who's ready to fight for their lives?"

"Professor Oobleck?" Weiss asked in disbelief.

" _Doctor_ Oobleck, didn't earn the PhD for fun, thank you very much!" They all shared a look before he continued, "You won't be needing those bags, seeing as you've opted to shadow a Huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission. I can assure you, we will not be establishing a single base of operations. But rather we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland and making camp in any defendable locations we may stumble upon. I packed all of the essentials, plotted out air course and readied the airship. And according to my schedule, we are three minutes behind!" He said before he zoomed off to the airship.

Ruby tried to cheer them up, "Well, alright, looks like we're going to save the world with Doctor Oobleck." There was a brief silence, "Okay. Yeah when you say it out loud it sounds worse."

Jaune just sighed, "Well, he is a Huntsman so he should be able to handle himself. Besides, Team JNPR can always demonstrate some of our team moves. Especially, since we know all of yours." Jaune smirked and everyone's mood was boosted a bit.

"Too bad. You guys could've partied with us!" They saw Neptune and Sun walk up to them. Neptune kept speaking, "We're shadowing a crime specialist. All inner-city detective stuff. We get junior badges." He said proudly.

Sun continued, "We normally go to the city with you guys, which usually means stuff's always exploding and junk. So we thought this would be a better way to check the kingdom when it's, you know, normal."

Jaune raised an eyebrow, "Didn't we become friends when you said explosions were a sign for a fun time?"

"A guy can only take so many explosions." Sun replied.

Jaune chuckled, "That changes if you live with Nora." She smiled widely at that. "Plus, that number goes up with Yang around." He pointed at Yang with his thumb and she grinned.

Sun just had a look that said, 'Really?' Neptune then spoke up, "That sounds like innuendo."

Nora blushed thinking of what he said and Yang just had a smirk. Jaune placed his hand over his face and let out an explosive sigh, "If one more person thinks I'm in a physical relationship with my sister in everything besides blood, I may just have to hurt them."

There was a momentary silence, "Awkward. Sorry man, didn't know." said Neptune sheepishly.

Jaune took his hand away before holding it up and channeling electricity into it, he hadn't discharged his Semblance yet. "Nora." He turned to her and she still had a slight blush, "Smash?" he asked. She got an evil smile and looked at Neptune before slowly reaching for his hand. They stopped when they heard Oobleck shouting they were four minutes behind schedule. They stopped and Jaune gave Neptune a grin, "You are so lucky, man." He said jokingly before they all started to walk to the airship.

They were all on the ship and Jaune was using his aura to calm his motion sickness. Although, he only had to when there was some turbulence. Oobleck was explaining why history was important and explaining the significance of Mountain Glenn. Jaune was paying attention, for once. Maybe it was the fact that they were on mission but he seemed more focused on his words. When they all arrived, they all jumped out with weapons in hand. Although there were no Grimm so they put them away. "You may still be students, but as of now your first mission as Huntsmen and Huntresses has begun! You need to do exactly as I say! Do you understand?" They all nodded. "Ruby! I thought I told you to leave all of your bags back at Beacon."

Ruby looked at him nervously, "But I, well, um-" Before she could explain, Zwei popped his head out of the bag and everyone just stared. They then heard Ruby whisper, "Get back in the bag." Jaune chuckled at that because the dog still had that happy expression on his face.

"We're investigating an abandon urban jungle teeming with death and hostility, and you brought a dog?" Oobleck asked her. Before she could answer, Oobleck shouted, "Genius!" before speeding past her and grabbing Zwei. She was about to fall over but Jaune managed to kneel down and catch her before that could happen. He grinned down at her and she blushed with her own smile. Before they both stood up. Oobleck was spinning with Zwei in the air while going on about how he'd be an excellent companion for their hunt. Ruby proudly called herself a genius while the other members of her team facepalmed. Oobleck soon dropped Zwei and started to brief them on their mission, "As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hot spot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several possibilities for this behavior, one of them being…." He stopped for a second before continuing, "Grimm."

Everyone was momentarily confused but soon Jaune realized what he meant. He reached back for Raikiri and spun around to see a single Beowolf down the street. Everyone else turned in the same direction. Jaune was about to rush forward if not for Oobleck. "Stop! There are a number of reasons why Grimm will congregate here, the most likely of which is their attraction to negativity. Most likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent."

The others relaxed but Jaune kept his hand on Raikiri's handle while looking at the Doctor. "So, what do you have in mind?" He asked him.

"We wait and track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may lead us to our prey."

"How long do we wait?" Blake asked.

"Uncertain." Oobleck replied. "Hours, days, weeks. Lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from the pack for months. And there's the whole pack." They all turn to see a dozen and a half Beowolves are in the street now. "And now they've spotted us!" he shouted. Jaune didn't take his eyes away and activated his Semblance, his eyes shifting to yellow. The whole pack was running towards them.

"What's the plan?" Yang asked.

Jaune just heard what he was hoping for, "Show me what you're capable of."

Jaune grinned and turned to hold his hand out to Nora. "Nora's Arc!"

Her eyes went wide before she smiled gleefully and took his hand. Before anyone can ask, the two shot forward in a burst of lightning. They stopped halfway to the pack and Jaune used the momentum to throw Nora into the air. The Beowolves just stared up at the flying Valkyrie before she deployed Magnhild in hammer mode. Jaune at this point had electricity running down his arms before bringing them up and shooting an arc at her. Nora and her weapon got supercharged with electricity before she used an explosion to send her spinning downward. She smashed her hammer into the middle of the pack and they were destroyed by the electricity and the impact uplifting the ground around her.

The reactions were mixed after that. RWBY was just staring in shock, Ren and Pyrrha were just grinning at the two and Oobleck hesitated for a second before drinking from his thermos. Nora soon skipped out of the crater towards Jaune, "How was that, Fearless Leader?"

Jaune just grinned, "I'll give you a ten for the dismount but a four for the landing." He said that and Nora looked like someone just destroyed every pancake in existence. Until Jaune patted her head with a smile, "You were perfect, Little Sister." She ginned and hugged him before both walked over to the rest of the group. "How'd we do?" he asked.

"Well done, Jaune and Nora. Your teamwork was perfect. But this was only the first bout." Oobleck said. They nodded at that.

"That was pretty awesome." Ruby said with excitement. "But why'd you call it 'Nora's Arc'?"

"Oh. Back when we were kids and first started to work on combo moves, Nora had a small crush on me. She was adamant on calling it that and I couldn't resist her pout. After that crush evolved into sibling love, we tried to change the name but by then it was too late. The name had already stuck." They all nodded at that. Jaune was then punched in the arm by his honorary sister. "Ow! Nora, why?"

They looked to see Nora glaring at him with a huge blush, "Jaune! You said you'd never tell anyone about that crush!"

Jaune thought for a second, "Nope. You told me to never bring it up, I never agreed to it." He smirked at her. "Payback for the workout from hell." She pouted and turned away, thoroughly embarrassed. Everyone chuckled or giggled until Jaune apologized to her and she forgave him. But the mission was barely beginning at that point and they had no idea what awaited them.


	48. Mission Continuation and Old Foes

The mission went on as you'd think. RWBY and JNPR killed any Grimm they encountered. Doctor Oobleck was examining anything and everything he could. Much to the annoyance of Yang who wanted to see what a Huntsman could really do. Oobleck soon started to ask WBY why they wished to be Huntresses and he seemed disappointed in their answers. And it seemed to make the girls second guess their intentions. It was getting close to night and everyone was running on empty besides Jaune, he still had dust in his swords, not even counting his clips, and his aura was still at half. He was scanning the area for any Grimm when he was spoken to by Oobleck, "What about you, Jaune?" he turned to the Professor. "Most of the Professors don't know much about you besides Ozpin, so why do you want to be a Huntsman?"

Jaune took a second to organize his thoughts, "Because it's the only thing that feels right." He said with little hesitation. Oobleck, Pyrrha and RWBY looked confused at that. "Growing up as an Arc, I grew up on my ancestor's tales of heroism. Along with stories of my father's adventures. It was only natural for me to wanna be a Huntsman. Even when the world seemed against it." He said the last part sadly as his hand went to his chest.

He was interrupted when yet another pack of Beowolves charged at them. They were all about to attack when Jaune put this hand out and started walking forward while drawing Kakiri. His eyes shifted crimson before he continued, "Training outside the Kingdoms gave me a front row seat to all the suffering the world has to offer…." He swung Kakiri upwards with it scratching the ground. This sent a wave of fire at the Grimm, they slowed but the stronger ones kept coming. "And even experienced more pain than I probably should've." He pulled his sword back with the blade covered in flame before swinging horizontally, sending a crescent shaped wave of flame at the Grimm. This created a bigger inferno but an Alpha in the group was still slowly walking forward. "But that didn't deter me, just reaffirmed my drive." He pointed Kakiri directly at the Alpha and sent a stream of fire directly at it with the last of his dust. The Alpha stopped and soon they were all ash. Jaune pulled out one of his fire dust clips and loaded it into Kakiri before he sheathed it. "I realized it's impossible to save every person, every life. But I'll do my damnedest to save as many people as I can." He said this with as much determination as possible. He lifted his hand and the flames were quickly drawn to his hand. They condensed into a small fireball before he turned to face them all with a smile, "I wanna be a Huntsman, Doctor, because I've seen the darkness and want to be one of the people to fight against it." With that the fireball dissipated from his hand.

They all smiled at him, even Oobleck as he spoke, "Well said, Jaune. I believe that will do for today. It's going to be dark soon." He threw his bag to Yang at that, luckily she caughts it. "You six, set up camp in that building. And please make sure there are no more Grimm. Your leaders and I are going to secure the perimeter. Come, Ruby, Jaune." He started to walk away and Ruby and Jaune went to catch up with him.

They walked for a bit before they saw the forest outside the ruins and a long line of Grimm outside. "What is that? It looks awesome!" Ruby said excitedly.

Jaune chuckled before he answered, "Grimm, Rosebud. Those are Goliaths, very strong and powerful Grimm."

Ruby stared in amazement before she pulled out Crescent Rose, "Let's kill it."

"I'm afraid your sniper will do nothing more than agitate a Grimm that size," Oobleck informed her.

Ruby looked deflated at that, "But what if they attack us?"

"We'll figure something out if that time comes. You're a prodigy in an adorable package and I'm every natural disaster in a blonde body. Plus, we have a professional huntsman. So, let's not aggravate them when all I have to fight them are swords." He smirked at her and she giggled while blushing as she nodded.

After that, Oobleck explained why the Grimm were there and why he wanted to be a Huntsman after Ruby asked him. The three made their way back to the building they were staying in for the night. They saw that their teams had six sleeping bags out and were trying to get the fire going. Trying, being the keyword to the utter annoyance of the brawler and heiress. Jaune smirked before creating a fireball with his semblance and tossing it into the kindling. It caught instantly. The two sent mild glares at him until Ruby cheered and sat next to the fire, "So warm." She commented.

"Very good!" Oobleck said. "Eat your dinners and hurry to bed. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow and we'll need you to pair up to take turns keeping watch over the area. Any volunteers for first watch?"

"Yo." Ruby and Jaune said at the same time with their arms raised. They looked at each other and laughed. At that Oobleck zoomed off while Jaune and Ruby went over to their lookout position. Zwei followed them and sat down between the two. They ate something small while looking out for any Grimm. Ruby would look through her scope on occasions and Jaune would use his earth Semblance to create subtle vibrations to act like a radar to see if anything was around. It was pretty quiet, eventually the two got bored and started to just talk. Just small talk, until Ruby brought up a question she wanted an answer to. "Jaune, have you ever been afraid to fight seriously? Like what will happen afterwards?" she asked weakly.

Jaune turned to her with a raised eyebrow. She wasn't looking at him but at the distance with a thousand-yard stare. "This about what happened at the CCT?"

She nodded, "When I fought that woman, she was fighting seriously and I saw what she could do. I felt like I had to fight without holding back but that made me think about what you said." She held Crescent Rose closer to her chest, "If she tried to kill me and I had to kill her, would that make me a monster?" she shivered at this.

Jaune was wide eyed at this. He activated his fire Semblance and slid over to her to wrap his arm around her before starting to radiate heat for the two of them. "No, Ruby. You wouldn't be a monster." She looked up at him, "You didn't just decide to kill her, you thought about it. You would've only gone that far if there was no other option. The people who kill without a second thought are the monsters. Even if you killed her, it would've weighed on you indefinitely. That makes you better than her." He smiled at her. "So, don't think about it anymore. I'll always be here for you to make sure you stay the Ruby we all love."

Ruby just took in his words before she blushed and smiled widely at him, "Thank you, Jaune." She hugged him, "And I'll make sure to help you stay the Jaune we love too."

He smiled and patted the top of her head before returning it to her shoulder. "Thanks, Rosebud."

They were quiet for a bit, "Jaune?"

"Yes?"

"Can…. we stay like this? For the rest of our watch, I mean." She asked nervously. "You're very warm."

Jaune smirked, "Absolutely." They looked into each other's eyes for a while before Zwei sat down on their laps and looked at them expectantly. They chuckled and pet the pup. They finished their watch a bit later before they switched for Yang and Pyrrha to take over. Ruby instantly fell asleep while Jaune just stared up at the broken roof for a while. But soon sleep found him as well.

* * *

Jaune woke up a couple hours later from another nightmare. He looked around to make sure he didn't wake the others. After making sure of that, he looked over to Yang and Pyrrha, they didn't notice either. He silently got up and grabbed his weapons before leaving the building. He got outside and leant against the wall. He took a deep breath of the cold night air before he exhaled. He looked up at the night sky. He stayed like that for a while until he heard something scurrying from inside the building, right before Zwei ran out of the building to the ruins across from them. He was confused until he saw him relieving himself. Soon Ruby came out as well, looking for her dog. Her eyes met Jaune's and they just looked at each other. He pointed over to Zwei. She looked before she sighed and shook her head. She turned back to him, "Well, you know why I'm up. How about you?"

"Nightmare." Is all he said as he turned back to the sky.

"Oh." She said, not knowing what to do. "Sorry."

Jaune shrugged, "It's fine. Nothing you did. I'm used to it by now."

She looked sadly up at him, "Is there anything that can help with them?"

He shook his head, "Nothing I tried has worked. The only time that they didn't come was when I stayed with Blake for the night. Having someone close relaxed me, I guess." He also was thinking of last night when sleeping with Pyrrha but he decided to not bring that up.

They were quiet until Ruby spoke nervously, "Would you…like me to…do the same?" Jaune turned to her in disbelief. She was blushing as red as her cloak but she was serious. He was going to answer before he heard muffled voices and pulled Ruby close to him. He put his finger to his lips before peering around the corner. He saw two White Fang members down the road. He couldn't make out everything they said but he heard something about a base. As they started to walk away, he looked down a Ruby and motioned with his head. She nodded and they silently started following them with Zwei tailing behind them. They eventually saw them go into a ruined building.

Ruby excitedly spoke up, "This is it!" She grabbed her scroll before she saw they had low signal. "Damn!" Jaune was shocked to hear her curse. "Come on, we gotta get the others."

They hurried down the street before the asphalt beneath them suddenly sunk before it started to cave in. Jaune was far enough back to not get caught in it but Ruby had to grab onto the ledge and catch Zwei. She tossed him up before she tried to pull herself up, but the ledge started to break. Jaune dropped his swords before grabbing his lightning clip. He shot off in a burst of lightning across the gap. He managed to grab Ruby's hand as she slipped and grab onto the ledge. Their combined weight was too much and the ledge broke off. Time seemed to slow down. Jaune looked at Ruby and she had a shocked expression. Jaune just smiled before he threw her to safety with Zwei before he fell into the abyss.

Jaune plummeted into a cavern and landed on a building. Luckily his aura was enough to take the fall. As he was standing, a door nearby bursted open and two White Fang came out. "Freeze!"

Jaune got into a defensive stance, 'I should be able to take them with my Semblance. But then again, I could let them capture me and see what's going on here.' He soon raised his hands in surrender.

They walked over to him, "You're a long way from home, blondie." One of them stated. Jaune just shrugged, not trusting his smart mouth right now. They walked up to him before putting his arms behind his back and attaching something metal around his wrists. He felt his aura weaken significantly and realized what they were. 'Aura cuffs. More stolen Atlas tech. Good thing these are the older model though.' He had to fight the urge to smile.

Jaune was soon escorted through an underground city. He saw White Fang members at work. Using Paladins to carry shipping containers. Jaune saw one drop a large device and the members shouting at each other. They stopped near a railcar and one of the White Fang spoke up, "Hey boss! Found something you might want to see!"

Jaune heard another voice inside the railcar answer, "Is it good or bad, Perry? Because let me tell ya, I have had a day." Jaune recognized the voice.

"Uh, it's a blonde kid?" Perry said.

Roman leant out of the doorway and looked at Jaune, "That would be bad." He said as he walked up to Jaune.

"Come on, I'm not that bad. No criminal mastermind but hey, I have my own charm." He said with a smirk.

Roman had his own smile before he punched Jaune in the face a few times before sending him to the ground. Roman laughed before speaking, "Wow! You are much more manageable without any water around, huh?" he said cockily.

Jaune managed to stand up and tried to shoulder charge him. Roman just sidestepped before grabbing Jaune by the back of the head. He spun and slammed him face first into the railcar before letting him fall. Roman laughed again, "Oh man. You know, Perry, I really did need this." He then walks over to Jaune and aims Melodic Cudgel at him. "But seriously, how'd you find this place, Blondie?"

Jaune smirked before flipping back to his feet and used the momentum to headbutt Roman. He stumbled back before he smacked Jaune across the face with his weapon sending him to the ground, again. Roman was rubbing his forehead as he spoke, "I see you've got a few moves up your sleeve! Let me make this clear: I'm not someone to piss off."

"These aura cuffs, you get them from Atlas?" Jaune asked tiredly.

Roman tilted his head, "Yeah. Why?"

"Just wondering if they were the latest model or not. The older ones had a few issues in them. The newest ones have rectified those." Jaune replied.

Roman looked confused, "What do you mean issues?"

Jaune shrugged, "Nothing severe. Just that they can't completely seal the aura of people with huge reserves, just suppress it. Plus, a decent electric shock could temporarily shut them down."

Roman is scratching his chin, "Huh. Didn't know that. Wait, how do you know?"

"Friend of mine designed the new ones." They then heard a series of explosions and Jaune smiled. He channeled all the aura he had that wasn't suppressed to his wrists. "That's my cue!" He used his Semblance to send out and electric burst into the cuffs. He instantly felt his aura return before he sent electricity from his entire body, knocking the White Fang and Roman away. Jaune turned to see his friends and instantly used the last of his lightning aura to shoot off in a burst of lightning. He stopped in front of them with a smile, "What took you?"

They all smiled at him in relief "Jaune!" they shout before Yang snapped the cuffs off him and Pyrrha handed him his swords. He quickly put them on his back while telling them what was going on. "Torchwick's got all kinds of weapons and robots down here. Androids, mechs, they're all loaded up on the train cars."

"That's ridiculous. These tunnels are sealed; the tracks lead to a dead-end." Oobleck explained.

They soon saw the train starting to leave. "Well, they're gonna try. Come on!" Jaune and the others started to run towards the train. They managed to get onto the train then onto the roof, trying to make their way to the front. They stopped when they noticed a device in one of the cars. "Doctor, is that what I think it is?" Jaune asked.

Oobleck looked in and nodded, "Yes, that appears to be a bomb." They were shocked and soon saw White Fang climbing onto the roof as well. Then the bomb activated and the railcar detached. They quickly jumped to the next one but found more and more bombs. They soon engaged the White Fang as the bombs went off and Grimm started flooding into the tunnels. "They're leading Grimm into the city!" Oobleck shouted.

They started to see Paladins appear as well as the Fang. Jaune soon spoke up, "We need to split up. Ren, Nora, Pyrrha, stay up here. I'll lead the rest into the train." They nodded.

Ruby gave her orders as well, "Yang, Weiss, Blake, go with him." They nodded.

The four of them jumped into the railcar and started running to the front of the train. That was until Neo dropped from the ceiling, blocking their path. They stopped and Yang spoke up, "You guys go on ahead. This one's mine." Jaune held his fist out to her and she bumped it with her own. She fired a few shots at Neo as the three ran past.

In the next car, they heard the sound of revving and soon saw the White Fang Lieutenant from the rally Blake infiltrated dragging a chainsaw. He chuckled menacingly, "Finally, I get to kill a Schnee."

Jaune stepped in front of Weiss before drawing Kakiri. His eyes shifted to crimson before his blade caught fire. "Over my dead body."

The Lieutenant froze before he started laughing maniacally. "Can't believe my luck. I get to kill _you_ too." Jaune was confused until he kept talking. "Guess you don't remember but I could never forget Gin's brat. The one that killed my best friend! I've been waiting years for this!" He said with so much anger in his voice.

Jaune froze and realized, he was there the day he first killed. He was one of the ones to try to kill Gin and was partially responsible for why Nora almost died. His anger started to rise, "You two go. I got this." Before they could argue, he charged the Lieutenant. Their weapons clashed and they were in a power struggle as the two girls left. "Let's see you try to kill me." Jaune said determined.


	49. Breach and Clear

Jaune and the Lieutenant were clashing repeatedly. Jaune's Kakiri and his chainsaw were sending sparks with every strike. Jaune was shocked by his physical strength. He was even with him from using his Semblance, luckily he wasn't as strong as Yang and Nora. That on top of him throwing around his weapon like it was lighter than a feather wasn't helping. The two got into another power struggle and Jaune used the opportunity to release flames from his entire body. The Lieutenant jumped back from the intense heat, Jaune quickly jumped forward with a powerful two handed swing from his own right. He simply raised his left arm, which he noticed had a vambracer with a round purple crystal in the center. As Kakiri hit it, he was pushed back and wide open.

"Come here, brat!" he shouted before grabbing Jaune by the throat and slamming him into the ground, leaving a crater. He then tossed Jaune into the air and swung at him with his chainsaw to bisect him. Jaune was able to angle Kakiri to take the hit but the was still thrown back. He hit the wall to the railcar but managed to land in a crouch. "Is this really all you have, brat?" he asked. "Whatever. Once you're dead I'll move onto the Schnee and that traitor. Then you can rejoin that other traitor that raised you."

Jaune snapped at that. No one insults his late master and more over, "No one threatens my girls!" Jaune shouted at the top of his lungs. As he did this he shot both his arms forward, releasing streams of fire alongside a third from his mouth. The three streams merged into a gigantic stream directly towards the White Fang Lieutenant. He quickly raised his arm and the crystal shined before creating a giant circular energy shield in front of him. He was pushed back but soon the stream stopped and Jaune was doubled over coughing. "Well, that's new." He said to himself in a raspy voice. He looked to see the path between himself and the White Fang was red hot.

The Lieutenant lowered his arm. "Well, that was a surprise. Good thing for Atlas tech. The bracer's gravity dust crystal is used to create an impenetrable shield. You won't be able to touch me."

Jaune was calmer now and was thinking of a strategy. 'Let's see how much stress that thing can take. Shit, this is gonna hurt, a lot.' He reached his hand down to his lightning clips and absorbed the dust. His right eye shifted yellow and soon electricity was running across his body along with the flames. 'Forty-five seconds.' "Go!" he shouted before he took off in a burst of lightning towards the Lieutenant. He stopped in front of him and swung from his right again. If the White Fang was shocked he couldn't tell, he raised his arm again. Jaune burst into lightning again and was soon behind him, swinging at his right shoulder. The Lieutenant lined his chainsaw across his back. Right before they would make contact, he burst off again and was now on his left. He was going for a stab to his throat but the Lieutenant was twisting his body to add more force to his over the shoulder swing. Jaune burst again and the chainsaw got stuck in the ground. Jaune was back on his left for another swing but the White Fang went for a backhand with his shield. Jaune burst one final time. The Lieutenant was looking for Jaune but couldn't see him. He quickly looked up and raised his shield in front of himself.

Jaune managed to get to the top of the railcar. He ran around enough to get his speed to its maximum but his body was killing him from using fire and lightning simultaneously. He covered Kakiri in flames and electricity before kicking off the ceiling with all his strength and speed. They collided and it was the physical equivalent of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.

An explosion of fire and lightning was created and sent the two flying from each other back to the doors they entered from. Jaune managed to stay on his feet but the White Fang hit the wall. He fell and Jaune was crouching, dealing with the pain of fire and lightning. Luckily or unluckily, his body was experiencing Elemental Backlash from using both of those elements at once. The Lieutenant was standing at this point with his chainsaw, somehow he held onto it. "Nice move, brat. But you accomplished nothing." He sneered before he heard something falling and shattering. He turned to see that the gravity dust crystal was shattered, half clinging to the vambrace and the other half on the floor in pieces. He growled in annoyance. "Well, it doesn't matter. Your exhausted!" he charged Jaune but he was stopped when bullets started to hit his aura. He soon brought up his chainsaw to protect himself.

Jaune turned to see Pyrrha stand beside him with Milo in its rifle form. "You okay, Jaune?"

He nodded and stood up, "Yeah. Just needed a breather. How'd you know I needed a hand and how was Yang?"

"Ren sensed that your aura was radiating a lot of rage and advised me to help you out. Yang was having problems with Neo but told me to help you and the others."

Jaune nodded, "Thanks, Pyr, but this is something I have to do. This is someone from by past, someone I have to deal with." He said determined while gripping Kakiri tighter.

"Fine but I'm helping you." Jaune was about to argue but Pyrrha cut him off. "I'm done with you trying to do everything by yourself. We all are. I'm your partner and your girlfriend, I'm helping you no matter what." She said determined.

Jaune was contemplating until he sighed, "Why must I love such stubborn women?" he asked rhetorically. She smiled at that. "Fine. Let's settle this." Jaune quickly clenched his left fist with his aura. Instantly all his swords deployed, similar to how they did the first time he showed Ruby. "Arkos!" he shouted as he ran forward. Pyrrha nodded and instantly turned Milo into its javelin form before throwing it over Jaune's shoulder.

The White Fang Lieutenant was about to charge but had to use his chainsaw to block the javelin. It got knocked into the air before Pyrrha used her Polarity to stop it. Jaune was already on him, swinging to from his own left and the Lieutenant managed to bring up his chainsaw to block it. He instantly shoved Jaune, sending him off balance. The White Fang went for another swing but miraculously, Jaune's other four swords flew intersected to block the chainsaw, curtesy of Pyrrha. Jaune regained his balance and pointed Kakiri through the space the four swords made, to release a stream of fire. This pushed White Fang back, to be right below Milo.

"Pyr!" Jaune said and she instantly flew his sword into the four cardinal directions around their foe. Jaune shot forward with a blazing horizontal swing from his right. The White Fang managed to block it but the flames still hit him. Jaune spun counterclockwise to get around him to be behind him, he impaled Kakiri into the ground before grabbing the floating Suikiri left handed. He went for an overhand swing with his blade covered in water. The Lieutenant raised his left arm to block it with the remainder of his bracer but again the water broke through his guard. Jaune rolled forward under the extended arm and impaled Suikiri while grabbing Fukiri right handed. He spun and swung an air compressed blade from his left. The Lieutenant couldn't block it and took a direct hit. Jaune continued his path and impaled Fukiri while grabbing Dokiri. He swung with a rock covered upward swing, catching him in the chest. He ran past the dazed White Fang before grabbing Raikiri. He got within his guard before stabbing upward with his electrified blade, sending him into the air. Jaune used his aura to get above him before grabbing Milo and using the explosive discharge to throw it hard and smash the White Fang into the ground with his aura shattered. Jaune caught Milo and stood over him with it and Raikiri. He was breathing heavy but it was over.

Pyrrha walked over to him and he handed her Milo. "That was perfect." He said with a smile. She returned it before using her Semblance to sheathe his other four swords. Jaune nodded his appreciation before they saw the door open and got ready to fight whoever it was. They calmed slightly as Yang stepped through. Jaune sighed, "Oum, Yang, you startled us. Guess you sent her packing." He grinned.

Yang grinned back but it seemed forced, "Yup. You know me."

Jaune raised an eyebrow but let it go. He motioned to the other door, "Come on. The others might need our help." They made their way further into the train. They notice an unconscious Roman then Weiss and Blake at the front of the train. They moved to the front to see two knocked out White Fang grunts. Weiss and Blake were messing with the controls. "What's the problem?" Jaune asked.

Weiss turned and answered, "The controls are jammed, we can't stop it!"

"Damn!" Jaune cursed before looking up to see a hatch. "Let's get above." They opened it and climb through to get to the top of the railcar. Soon Ren, Ruby and Nora run up to them. They then see the train is on a collision course with a thick concrete wall.

"What do we do?" Blake asked.

"Everyone get close." Jaune commanded and they listened. Jaune quickly activated his Stage Two water Semblance by burning through a whole water clip. He created a water shield around them that was glowing with his aura. "Weiss." She instantly froze the entire thing; it was still glowing from his aura. "Brace yourselves." They crash through the wall. They felt themselves get ripped form the railcar and slam into the ground. The aura enforced ice only cracked, luckily. Jaune quickly used his Semblance to break the ice. They found themselves in the middle of central Vale with many civilians there. The alarms were blaring due to the breach. Luckily, none were harmed but Jaune was running on barely half aura. Before they could do anything a giant King Taijitu erupted from the hole along with numerous Grimm. Jaune clenched his jaw in anger. He drew Raikiri and loaded a dust clip into it. "No rest for the weary."

He look to his team and RWBY and they nod before all charged the Grimm. Ruby was using her bullets and scythe to their full capabilities, tearing into a good chunk of Grimm. Weiss was using her dust and Glyphs to take out groups of Grimm or setting them up for the others to deal with. Blake was using all of Gambol Shroud's forms to deal with Grimm and using her dust enhanced Shadows to high efficiency. Yang and Nora were teaming up, using their destructive fighting styles and unique ammos for devastating combos. Ren was running through the hordes, his Stormflowers on full auto and slashing into any Grimm that got too close. Once or twice he had to rely on his aura strikes. Pyrrha was using her Semblance and skills as the Goddess of Victory to take out any and all Grimm in the way. Jaune was using Raikiri to electrocute the Grimm and slash through them with his speed amplified swordplay. But eventually they seemed to get over run when more Grimm started to show.

Luckily, back up was there. Sun and Neptune rushed onto the scene with their weapons drawn. Sun using his bo staff and Neptune giving cover fire. Sun was also shouting, "Junior detectives on the scene!" Some of the Atlesian Fleet showed up and start to open fire on any Grimm along with Atlesian Knights jumping down for added support. They were doing alright until more Grimm flooded in with some more ancient Grimm in tow. Jaune caught sight of Mercury using his boots and kicks to deal some more along with Emerald using a pair of scythe/pistol combos. Zwei and Oobleck burst onto the scene to offer their own support. Two bullheads showed up not long after and dropped off Teams CRDL and CFVY along with Professor Port, who teamed up with Oobleck for some real firepower. CRDL was displaying their improved teamwork by taking down packs of Grimm including some of the ancient variety. Yatsuhashi was using his greatsword to full effect. Fox and Velvet were tag teaming Grimm with their hand-to-hand combat and Coco was laying into all Grimm with her minigun.

The fighting was still going on and they all had to fight at their best to stop the Grimm. They were all tiring now. Jaune was still fighting but thinking, 'This is getting to be too much. Should I resort to an Advance Element?' He quickly looks around, 'But I'll have to reveal what I can do to the others. Should I?' He then saw Weiss falter for a second and an Alpha Beowolf was about to sink its claws into her. His eyes widened and he got a flashback to his sisters about to be attacked. His eyes hardened. 'Just do it!' he drew Suikiri in his left hand as he burst forward in lightning. He got behind Weiss and decapitated the Alpha with both of his blades.

She turned to him, "Thanks, Jaune."

He nodded before breathing deep, "Everyone, get back!" Everyone turned to him stunned as he rushed over to Nora. "Nora, I need a lift!" She turned and saluted. She swung upwards and Jaune jumped onto Magnhild before flying into the air. He closed his eyes and started to weave the surging lightning into the flooding water residing in his aura. He combined his swords as a purple light irradiated from his body. Everyone stared up in the air in shock. Soon the light turned into dozens of purple beams that arc down into many of the Grimm. Before the others could process what happened. Jaune landed in the center with Suikiri and Raikiri combined into a longsword with purple edges and circuits. His eyes were the same purple before he shouted. "Blast!"

"Rankiri!" Nora shouted cheerfully to finish his thoughts.

Jaune turned to the others, "I need you to create a perimeter. I can't hold this for long and you don't wanna get caught up in this." RWBY and NPR nodded before moving away. Soon the others did the same. He ran into the fray at that. Carving into a lone Grimm before aiming Rankiri at the rest of them and firing energy blasts form the blade. The beams tore through the Grimm before he pulled his blade free and slicing into more of them. A few Beowolves tried to sneak up on him but he channeled this new element into his fingertips on his left hand. He swung his arm and fried the pinpoint blast into the four Beowolves; they were hit in the head, neck and chest, killing them. He quickly scanned the area to see all his friends holding the perimeter but faltering. 'This is gonna be exhausting.' He channeled energy into his blade and left hand. "Everyone, down!" They all dropped and he quickly spun with his blade extended in one direction and with his arm in the other. Two continuous beams were fired and quickly wiped out the remaining Grimm, including cutting the King Taijitu in half.

Jaune was out of breath and was about to get attacked by a Boarbatusk but it was sent flying by a purple energy. He turned to see Goodwitch walking over to him, "It's good to see you taking this seriously, Mr. Arc." He nodded and she continued. "Now if you could deal with the other half of the King Taijitu, I can finish this." He turned to see the white head up and angry.

Jaune grinned before sending energy into Rankiri, making the whole blade shine purple, growing twice as long and wide. "Yes, Ma'am." He said before he took off at full speed at it. He could hear the others cheer him on and he smiled, 'So this is what it feels like, being a Huntsman? You were right, Mother, it is amazing.' A single tear fell before he jumped forward with a battle cry as the King Taijitu charged forward, mouth wide open. Jaune swung and cut everything from the upper jaw and up from the rest of the snake. He landed on the back and jumped higher and above the hole. He flipped so he is head first towards the hole and saw numerous red eyes. He pointed Rankiri at the hole and all the energy still clinging to the blade is shot into the hole as a rain of pinpoint lasers. The Grimm screamed and as soon as the volley is stopped, Goodwitch sealed the hole.

Jaune landed on the ground in a heap. He was just looking up at the sky with a small smile. His eyes shifted back to blue before he sat up. "Jaune!" He heard many people shout to him. He turned and got tackled to the ground by his three girlfriends, Ruby and Nora. They were all hugging him and he just laughed. He saw Weiss and Ren standing close with smiles. Soon the others were there as well and they all get off the ground. Everyone started asking him questions all at once. He got exhausted and brought his fingers from his right hand to his mouth to make a loud, piercing whistle. They all shut up, "Guys, one at a time."

He looked to see Velvet holding her ears painfully. He gained a sad look and gently patted her head, "Sorry, Vel. Forgot about your sensitive hearing." He said sheepishly. She blushed and replied with a bashful, "It's okay." They all heard clapping and cheering. They realized it's the civilians. They all smiled and soon any regrets Jaune had about using that Advance Element were gone. They then saw, Mercury and Emerald escorting Torchwick to the police. And they smiled more.

Everyone turned to Jaune and he answered, "That was part of my Semblance." He sighed. "I'll explain everything a bit later. We've been up all night and I'm surprised that we haven't passed out yet." The seven others nodded their heads and the other three teams agreed.

They started to leave but Jaune felt someone poke him. He looked to see Ruby holding Rankiri. "You dropped this." She said with a smile.

He smiled back, "Thank you, Rosebud." He started to reach for his sword but he couldn't move his left arm. He looked tosee it just hanging limply. He sighed, "Damn it."

"What's wrong?" Pyrrha asked.

"My whole left arm is paralyzed do to the Elemental Feedback from plasma." He said annoyed. "This'll be fine. Just need some time for the effects to wear off." He answered before any of the others can overreact. He gave Ruby a run through on how to separate his swords before she did so and with her help, returned them to their right sheathes. They all made their way back to Beacon. They just sat on the edge of the cliff and looked over the horizon.

"Well, we did it." Jaune spoke up.

"We did it." Blake said with a small smile.

Weiss added her own opinion, "If we don't get extra credit for that, I'm gonna be seriously disappointed."

"A two-headed snake literally crushed a bakery. I wouldn't count on it." Yang reminded her.

Ruby spoke up next, "Plus, we didn't solve everything. A lot of people were hurt, and we still don't even know why they did this, or who that mystery girl was."

Pyrrha added to that, "Well, not every story has a neat and tidy ending."

Ren also added his sagely wisdom, "We might not have all the answers, but we do have a lot of dangerous people behind bars. And I think that's something we should be proud of."

Nora soon jumped up, "Yeah! And if anyone tries something like that again, Teams JNPR and RWBY will stop them!"

Yang laid on her back and in a tired voice said, "Yay, teamwork, camaraderie, good guys, go team, good job, alright…"

Jaune chuckled before he followed her lead and laid his head on her stomach, closing his eyes. "Couldn't put it better myself."

Yang smiled and gently ran her fingers through his hair. "What am I, your pillow?"

He shrugged, "You slept on me before. Seems fair."

They all looked at the blonde duo and agreed with them. They soon all made their way back to the dorms. They entered their rooms besides Yang, Blake and Jaune. They shared a loving kiss before going back to their rooms. Jaune found Nora and Ren in the latter's bed. He also saw Pyrrha in his bed but doesn't mind. He changed into his night wear. Although with only one arm, it was difficult to do, before joining her. They cuddled together until Pyrrha kissed Jaune. He returned it before both fell asleep holding the other.


	50. Revelation

Jaune woke up an hour before noon the next day. He hated to sleep in that late but after yesterday, he needed the sleep. He was about to get up but realized he couldn't. He turned to his right and saw Pyrrha with her arms wrapped around him and her right leg over top him and entangled with his leg. He regretted to do it but he needed to get up and that meant waking her. He sighed before using his left arm, which was no longer paralyzed, to gently shake her. "Pyrrha." She groaned in her sleep and pulled him closer to her. Jaune shook her again. "Come on, Pyr."

This time he got a response. She tiredly said, "Jaune. Sleep." She said this in a Nora like fashion and he had to stifle a groan.

'They've spent too much time together.' He thought to himself. "You can sleep, Pyrrha. But I need you to let me go." he said quietly, so to not wake up Nora and Ren. Pyrrha just held him tighter in response. "Pyrrha." He whined and all she did was raise her head a bit with her lips puckered. He sighed before leaning in and kissing her. It started as a sweet, chaste kiss until Pyrrha pulled him closer and it became more passion filled. Jaune tried to hold back but soon was returning the passion and holding her closer. Pyrrha soon stuck out her tongue and gently brushed it across his lips. He immediately accepted it and added his own to the kiss. The kiss soon became a steamy make out session, especially when Pyrrha rolled on top of him. Jaune pulled her body as close to his as possible and the two continued with their time together until they both had to separate to breathe. The two looked at each other with half lidded gazes as they were breathing heavy.

She lowered her forehead to lean it against his, "Are you going to wake me up like that all the time?" She asked tiredly, from both the kiss and her still needing sleep.

Jaune chuckled slightly, "No but maybe for special occasions." He gently caressed her right cheek with his left hand.

She pulled back slightly and looked at his arm, "So, the effects are gone?"

He nodded, "Yup. The effects don't last too long. So, would you mind getting off? I need to shower since I couldn't last night." He smirked at her and she giggled before rolling off of him. He got up before tucking her back in and kissing her cheek. "Get some more sleep." He smiled and she returned it before falling asleep.

He went to the shower to clean up and got dressed in his usual outfit, he wore a regular black t-shirt sense the love bites were finally gone. He also forgo wearing his hoodie, he needed to wash it after yesterday. He left his belt and gloves on his desk, he didn't really need them right now. He looked to see Nora cuddling up to Ren and him with a content smile on his face. Jaune grinned and took a pic on his scroll. 'Just in case.' He thought before he quietly left his dorm. He went over to RWBY's dorm and gently knocked, loud enough to be heard but not loud enough to wake anyone up.

He waited a minute or so before he opened the door enough to look inside. He saw that the four girls were still sleeping soundly in their beds. He had half a mind to wake up Yang and Blake with a kiss but decided against it. He was about to close the door when he heard a whining sound. He looked down to see Zwei looking up at him. He crouched down and pet the pup, "What're you doing, Zwei?" he asked in a low voice. He just sat there and accepted the attention but he kept looking behind Jaune expectantly. Soon he had a good idea on what he wanted, "Wanna go for a walk?" As soon as he said that, Zwei ran around in a circle. Jaune chuckled slightly before he opened the door more and Zwei walked out. He closed the door and led the corgi out into the courtyard.

Zwei just ran around barking and chasing random things that caught his attention. Jaune followed after him with a smile on his face. He wished he had a ball to throw for the pup. The two probably walked around aimlessly for a good twenty minutes or so before Jaune sat down on a bench to watched him forage around and dig up the grounds. Jaune was thinking, there was this feeling in the air. It felt like something was going to go wrong. This was weird because Jaune has had this kind of feeling before, but usually when there was danger. But that was crazy. They were at Beacon and they stopped the Breach, so why was this feeling still around? He was brought out of his thoughts when Zwei ran over with a stick.

Jaune grinned and played fetch with him for a few minutes. They headed back to the dorms shortly after that. They got back to RWBY's room and he opened the door for the dog. Zwei walked in and laid down on the rug to fall asleep, tired after all his activities. Jaune grinned and he was shutting the door when he heard a small voice, "Jaune?"

Jaune stopped and looked over to Ruby's bunk. He saw that she was awake and looking at him. He smiled at her, "Morning, Rosebud. Did I wake you?"

She shook her head and yawned slightly. Again, Jaune found her adorable. "No, I've been awake for a while. So, where'd you take Zwei?" she asked quietly.

"Just for a walk. I came to see if any of you were awake and he needed to go."

She nodded, "Thank you, Jaune."

He shook his head slightly, "No big deal. Well, I was going to make brunch, wanna give me a hand?" he asked her.

She nodded, "Yeah. That sounds like fun." She sat up and stretched. But as she did they both heard an ominous creaking sound. They both went wide eyed and froze. Both knew what that sound meant.

Jaune opened the door more and slowly walked into the room. "Ruby, don't move, okay?"

She was going to nod but decided against it. "Okay." She said weakly as Jaune kept slowly walking over to her bed. When he was halfway there she spoke again, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to pick you up and hopefully get you off of your bed before it falls. Then we can worry about Weiss." Jaune said inching closer.

When Ruby heard that she flinched slightly, thinking of being held in Jaune's arms was too much for her. The flinch was enough though because they heard the creaking sound again but much louder. Time slowed down as they saw the bed fall. Ruby quickly jumped from the bed and onto Yang's. She almost knocked Yang out of the bed as she landed on her. When Yang was rudely awoken, she quickly grabbed her bed to not fall onto the floor. She looked at Ruby, "Ruby, what are-" She was interrupted when they heard the bed collapse on top of the other. The two looked over with Blake, who was awoken by the sound and Zwei jumping onto her. They all saw the bed in pieces over the remains of Weiss' bed.

"Weiss!" Yang and Blake yelled in unison, afraid for their teammate and friend. The rest of JNPR soon ran into the room, wondering what the sound was but they were all stopped when they heard Ruby yell. "Jaune!" They all looked again to see the blonde swordsman huddled over Weiss holding her close to him with his right arm while supporting the remainder of Ruby's bed on his back and shoulder.

Weiss was meanwhile in a mental overload. She was awoken by someone jumping onto her bed and being pulled into them. Before she could register that, she heard something crashing into them, a popping sound and a grunt of pain. Now she was looking up at Jaune, holding her like her life depended on it and holding up Ruby's bed with a pained expression. "You okay, Weiss?" he asked, trying to hide the pain from his voice.

She nodded at him, "Yes, I'm fine." She said with a blush and still not sure on what was happening.

He breathed a sigh of relief before he spoke again, "Good." He smiled before it disappeared with a wave of pain. "Now, could you guys get this off me? It's heavy." He spoke to the others in the room.

They all snapped out of their stupors with that. Yang, Pyrrha and Nora were over there getting the bed off of them. Ruby, Ren and Blake were by their side to check on the two. Jaune let go of Weiss when the bed was off of them and he instantly doubled over breathing raggedly in pain. They could see that his t-shirt was torn in a few places and he had a few cuts on his back. Also, his left shoulder was dislocated from the bed catching it just right. They were all concerned but before they could ask him anything, he spoke up. "Ren, my arm." He said weakly.

Ren nodded before he got into position, holding his upper arm with one hand and the area between his neck and shoulder with the other. "The rest of you may want to brace yourselves." He said calmly. He looked Jaune in the eyes as the blonde took a deep breath and nodded. Ren tightened his grip as he spoke, "On three. One, two…" Ren pushed Jaune's arm back into socket at that and Jaune let out a mild yell in pain before he sighed in relief. The others in the room flinched at the distinct popping sound it made.

Ren let go and Jaune slowly moved his arm around. "Thanks, Ren. It should be fine with my aura now." He smiled.

Ren just nodded with a small grin, "I'm used to it, Jaune. But why's your back cut up? Your aura should've protected you."

Jaune stopped and tried to not make eye contact with any of his team before sheepishly answering, "My aura is still a bit unstable from yesterday. I kinda resorted to using fire and lightning in tangent."

Ren pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed, "Of course you did." He deadpanned while Nora and Pyrrha had worried looks.

"What's the big deal with Jauney using those two elements?" Yang asked concerned.

"Unlike a lot of his elements, those two particular ones are always fighting for dominance inside of his aura. They are the only two that do that and is why he hasn't developed their Advance Element. But because of that imbalance, he can't use both for an extended period and his aura is usually unstable for a time afterwards. Especially, considering you used an Advance Element shortly after that, further aggravating your aura." Ren gave Jaune a slight glare at that. Which he just scratched the back of his head and chuckled slightly.

"Whoops." Is all he said and his team just sighed at his antics. Nora looked like she was going to try to lecture him. He casually walked over to her before showing her the picture on his scroll and her eyes went wide. He smirked deviously, "Your move, Miss Valkyrie." He said in his cliché villain voice. She blushed and looked away bashfully. Everyone was confused by this but Jaune pocketed his scroll before any of the others could see the image. He pulled her into a gently hug and whispered to her, "Want me to send you it?" She nodded slightly and he just kissed her head before she hugged him back.

They pulled apart and they all look at the remains of the beds. "Now what?" Blake asked.

Jaune shrugs, "We clean this up and ask Ozpin for some normal bunk beds for you girls. That way you don't almost get killed next, Kitten." The four girls looked away from him, "Not gonna say it but for the record, you should listen to me sometimes." They all nodded and Ruby made her way to the door, not looking at anyone. "Ruby?" Jaune asked her.

She stopped but didn't look at him, "I'm going to talk to Ozpin. I'll be back soon." She said weakly as she left. They all knew that wasn't the case, mostly because she was still in her pajamas and she wouldn't walk around campus like that.

They all looked at each other until the other six just gave Jaune a look. He nodded to them, "On it." He left and followed after her. It took him a few minutes before he found her slowly walking down the hall. "Ruby, wait up." He ran over to her as she stopped and he stopped a few feet away from her.

"What's up?" she asked not turning to face him.

"Ruby, I know somethings bothering you. Talk to me, please."

She looked down slightly, "That was a huge mistake." Jaune was confused but he let her keep talking. "I was the one that came up with the bunk bed idea and because of that I was almost hurt and more importantly, Weiss was almost killed. You were right the whole time." she said sadly.

Jaune sighed, "Ruby, its fine. You two weren't hurt and I'll bounce back. Like I always do. Besides, I was just teasing you when I said all those things about the beds. So, please, don't take this seriously and don't linger on it. I hate it when you're sad." He said honestly.

She was quiet for a while before she spoke, "Why?"

"Why what?" He asked.

"Why are you always like this with me?" she spoke and started to shake slightly. "You're always so kind to me. You give me advice on everything, both little things and big issues. When I screw up, you never call me out on it. You just give me a pep talk and make me feel better. You tell me to learn from it and don't let it consume me." He heard her sniffle slightly. "You've done so many things for me and expect nothing more than my friendship. That's why I feel so bad about lying to you and everyone else."

Jaune was confused but couldn't ask her what she meant. "You're so important to me Jaune. You've become the best friend I could've ever wished for. But sometimes, we have moments. Moments that make me think there's more and that gives me hope." She turned to him finally and had tears streaming down her face. "I could never tell you because that would ruin what we have and I can't imagine what I'd do without you. But I can't hide it anymore, it's too painful." She looked him in the eyes. "When I'm around you, my heart feels like it's going to burst. When I'm away from you, you're all I think about. I've never felt like this before and I know now why. I love you, Jaune." Jaune's eyes widened and Ruby covered her own as she cried more. "I've fallen head over heels for you, my best friend."

"Ruby. I'm sorry." Her heart fell at that. She knew what that meant, he didn't feel the same as she predicted. And now, their friendship was ruined. She didn't expect him to hold her close. She looked up and as she did, he leant down and kissed her. Her eyes went wide, both shocked by the suddenness and the difference with this kiss. She could feel so much more behind this kiss than their first one. She closed her eyes and melted into it.

They separated soon afterwards and Ruby looked up to him confused. Jaune had a sad smile on his face as he gently wiped away her tears. "I'm sorry for hurting you so much, Rosebud. The truth is, I was afraid of saying this for the exact reason you were. I didn't wanna lose you. But, Ruby, I love you. I love you so much."

Ruby's eyes widened again before she smiled widely and more tears ran down her face. She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down to kiss him. The two kissed until Ruby pulled away to breathe from being inexperienced. "Does this mean we're together-together?" she asked bashfully.

Jaune looked nervously at her, "Well, um, we could be but there's a few…complications?"

"Complications?" she asked and tilted her head slightly.

He sighed before preparing himself, "You aren't the only girl I've fallen for Ruby. I've fallen for Blake, Yang, Pyrrha and Weiss, as well. And right now I'm dating Yang, Blake and Pyrrha." He looked away from her.

Ruby had a look of realization, "Oh, that explains a lot." Jaune looked back to her. "Yang and Blake have been in very good moods lately. Also, Pyrrha seemed extra happy as well." She looked down, "So, does that mean you don't want me to be your girlfriend?"

Jaune was shocked, "No no no. Ruby, I'd be overjoyed if you were my girlfriend. But, wouldn't you be uncomfortable with dating me along with the others? Especially, since this is your first relationship."

Ruby thought for a second, "I don't think so. I mean, you just said you love all of us, right?" He nodded at that. "And the others know about this and are okay with this, right?" He nodded again and she smiled. "Then what's the problem? We all get to be with the person we love and you get to be with all of us. Plus, this would just make us all closer." She said cheerfully.

Jaune was just stunned by this before he started to chuckle, "I guess it makes sense that you'd be okay with this. You're a hundred percent sure though?" he asked one more time.

She nodded happily, "Yup. Oh, wait. If we all get married, that would mean the others would be my sisters!" she said excitedly.

Jaune blushed at that, "It's a bit early to think about that Ruby. So, ready to head back?"

She nodded but soon look down sheepishly. "Does this mean I can get more kisses?"

Jaune just smiled, "As many as you want."

She cheered before jumping on his back and cuddling up to him. He just smiled and started to walk them back. She kissed him on the cheek shortly after, "I love you, Jaune." She said happily.

Jaune smiled more, "I love you, Rosebud.

When they got back to RWBY's dorm, they noticed that most of the mess was gone and the other's looked up at them. They saw the happy expressions on both of their faces and five of them had knowing smiles. Weiss however decided to ask, "Why are you two so happy?"

Before Jaune could say anything, Ruby spoke up, "I'm dating Jaune!"

Weiss' jaw dropped, "What!?"

"Yay!" Nora cheered. "Now I have four more sisters!" Ren just sighed with a small smile.

Yang walked over to them. She turned to Ruby with a smile, "Congratulations, sis." She then turned to Jaune with a mild glare, "You better treat her right, Hero."

Jaune just raised an eyebrow, "Uh, Yang, can you threaten me to treat her right, when I'm dating you as well and treating you as well as I can?" he asked confused. Which also had Yang and Ruby stumped.

"Wait, what!?" Weiss asked again.

"So, are there any rules to dating him?" Ruby asked Blake and Pyrrha.

Blake answered, "Just that you respect that Jaune is dating us as much as you."

"Also, if we are having a moment, don't try to sabotage it. It's not a rule, just an unspoken agreement." Pyrrha added.

"Got it!" Ruby said cheerfully.

"Hold on a second! All four of you are dating him at the same time?!" Weiss asked shocked.

Everyone looked at the flabbergasted Weiss before they all turned to Jaune. "Right, she was the only one I haven't spoken to about this yet." He said sheepishly with a nervous laugh. This was probably not going to end well.


	51. Coming Clean

Jaune found himself kneeling on the ground in RWBY's dorm. Weiss was standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, looking at him with an angry glare. The other six members of their teams were sitting on the two remaining beds in the room. Pyrrha, Ruby and Yang were on the latter's bed with Zwei on Ruby's lap. While Ren, Nora and Blake were on the other. They were all looking at the scene and weren't sure what they should do.

"I can't believe this, Jaune." Weiss said angrily and he turned to her. "Out of everyone in this school, I thought you'd be more honorable than this. With everything you've done, I'd think you'd be more of a gentleman. But no, here you are dating my entire team and your partner! After everything, you're just a no good playboy!" She shouted in anger. She was angry that she was the only one who didn't know and jealous that she wasn't asked, as frustrating and confusing as that was. But most of all, she was hurt. She finally accepted she had feelings for him and she finds out _this_! Her anger stopped for a second when she saw the pain in his eyes as he looked down. She couldn't think too much on it though because she was now looking at four very angry women standing between her and their boyfriend.

"How dare you! Jaune is the most honorable person we know!" Blake yelled. "He wasn't even going to say anything to any of us until I talked to him. He was going to bury his feelings because he didn't want to hurt any of us, just to make us happy!"

"And for your info, Princess, he has been a complete gentleman with all of us!" Yang shouted with red eyes. "He's been nothing but great to us and he's been mature and responsible the entire time!"

"What's the big deal that we are all dating him anyways?!" Pyrrha defended. "It's our choice! He didn't force us into this, so you have no right to belittle him!"

"Plus, Jaune is not a playboy!" Ruby added to the argument. "If he were, he would've tried to take advantage of you when Neptune broke your heart; but instead he convinced him to talk to you because he thought that would make you happy!"

Weiss stared in shock at this. They all made good points and they were right. About everything. Plus, they wouldn't defend him if she was right about his intentions. She knew Jaune and trusted him. But instead of getting him to explain, she just yelled at him. She looked down sadly.

"Girls, stop." Jaune said firmly but not commanding as he stood up. "We don't need this getting bigger than it needs to." They looked like they were going to argue. "Look, I appreciate you defending me but its fine." He gave them a small smile. "So, can we have the room? To talk about this calmly." They looked at each other before they nodded. Ren and Nora got up and lead them out, besides Ruby who was looking up to Jaune.

"I'm sorry for causing all of this. I was just excited to be with together with you." She said sadly with a small tear in the corner of her eye.

Jaune gently cupped her cheek and gently wiped it away. He kissed her gently on the forehead and let his lips linger a little longer than normal. "It's okay, Rosebud, I understand. Don't worry, everything will work out." He smiled reassuringly at her before she had her own. She stood on her toes and kissed him on the lips before she left and closed the door behind her.

Before he started to talk with Weiss, he took out his scroll and sent the picture of Nora and Ren to the former's scroll. He looked up to see Weiss just looking at him nervously. He sighed, "Sorry, Weiss. I didn't want you to find out this way."

She raised an eyebrow, "Were you ever going to tell me?"

Jaune scratched the back of his head, "Actually, I was but I was just afraid to." She looked shocked. "When I came to Beacon, I wasn't planning on getting into any relationship. Considering…" he trailed off but Weiss knew what he was getting at. "When I was hanging out with all of you, I could see all of your good qualities but I never thought of any of you in _that_ way. That was until it was too late. When I eventually found out, I had already fallen in love. With Pyrrha. Yang. Blake and Ruby." He stopped for a second and Weiss' heart hurt. He turned to face her. "And you, Weiss."

She was shocked by this. He loved her. She could barely contain herself, that was until she thought about the other four. "So, you want me to join your harem?" she asked, unsure of the whole situation.

Jaune looked down for a few seconds, "I would but it just wouldn't work out."

She was shocked further by this. 'Am not good enough for him!?' she thought angrily.

"Weiss, I do love you. Just as much as the others but you're the heiress of the SDC, you have an image to keep up. And being with me in a relationship like this would just make it harder for you to inherit the company and bring it back to its former glory." He looked back to her with a sad look. "That has been your dream for as long as I've known you. I can't have you give it up because of me." he said determined. "I didn't expect any of the girls to agree to this but I kinda knew you wouldn't be okay with it. Besides, you deserve to be with someone who'll love you and only you. They do too." He looked over to the door before looking out the window. "But they don't agree with me. So, for as long as they wanna be with me, I'm going to prove I'm worthy of that love." He said determined and Weiss was just trying to absorb all of this.

"Is that why you told Neptune to ask me out?" she asked.

He nodded, "He seemed to make you happy and that's all I wanted for you. So I decided to get out of the way of that, for your sake. But as much as I wanted to, I couldn't bury these feelings."

Weiss was just staring at him now. Everything he was saying was with his usual honesty. She had no reason to think otherwise but she was conflicted. She wanted to be with him. He loved her and she loved him, it should be simple. But it wasn't and he was right, she was the Heiress of SDC. If her father ever found out. She shuddered slightly. She was on a mental overload and needed to think but she needed a question answered. "Why were you afraid to tell me?"

He sighed, "Because I was afraid I'd lose you." He replied honestly. "Even if you didn't return my feelings, I didn't want our friendship to end. You're too important to me." He looked over to her before he continued. "You've told me so many times that you trust me and how hard it is for you to trust people. I didn't want you to think I was abusing that trust to take advantage of you."

Weiss' heart fluttered at that. 'This is why I fell for him. He cares about me. Not Weiss Schnee, the heiress but me.' She thought to herself. She wanted to hold him, to kiss him. To show him how much she cared and appreciated him. But she couldn't. Could she? She was too confused. Her head told her to not go through with this. But her heart, that told her to go for it. To hell with the consequences. She was so deep in thought she jumped when she felt Jaune lay his hand on her shoulder. She looked up to him and he had an understanding smile.

"I know I gave you a lot to think about, so I understand. I'll get out of your hair and give you some space." He smiled at her before walking over to the door. His hand was on the doorknob when he felt her grab his other hand. He turned around and saw her with her head down. She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around him without saying a word. Jaune had no idea what to do besides gently returning the hug. He didn't say a word; just held her for as long as she wanted him to.

After a while, Weiss spoke quietly, "Please. Don't go." He looked at her and she looked up at him misty eyed. "I don't want to lose you."

Jaune placed his right hand gently on the back of her head and pulled her to his chest. "You won't." He spoke just as gently. "Even if you don't love me, I'll always be here for you. As long as you let me, Snow Angel." He gently caressed her hair to calm her and he felt her tighten her hold on him slightly.

After a minute or so of this, she looked back up to him. "I'm not sure what to say, Jaune. So…. would you mind…if a had some time to think this over?" she asked hesitantly.

Jaune nodded with his usual smile, "Of course, take as much time as you need."

She had a small smile and gently kissed his cheek. She pulled back with a blush, "Thank you, Jaune. And I'm sorry for what I said before. I didn't mean any of that. I was just shocked and acted irrationally. Can you forgive me?"

His response was just to hold her a bit tighter. "Already done." She smiled and enjoyed the hug for a little longer. They soon broke apart and Jaune opened the door. That's when Yang, Ruby, Pyrrha and Nora fell into the room in a pile with Zwei, somehow on top. Weiss was shocked and Jaune just sighed. "Really?" was all he asked. They all laughed nervously. He looked and saw Blake leaning against JNPR's door and Ren nowhere to be seen. But by the look on her face, she heard most of the conversation. "Where's Ren?" he asked her.

Blake just had a small smile, "Changing. He said you would handle this and he needed to get into his usual clothes."

Jaune nodded. "Yeah, maybe you all should." Jaune said as all the girls were still in their nightwear. "You girls change and meet me in the common room. I'll make brunch for all of us."

They nodded before Ruby and Weiss went to do that. Zwei following them into the dorm. Yang and Blake gave Jaune good morning kisses before they followed the other half of their team. Pyrrha and Nora waited before entering the dorm, so to not walk in on Ren. Jaune made his way to the common room and started getting brunch ready. Ren showed up a few minutes later and helped him out. Everything was done when the girls showed up. They thanked them before they all dug in. When they all finished, they just sat around and relaxed. Jaune was drinking his coffee when his scroll went off for the umpteenth time that morning. He groaned in annoyance. "What's wrong, Fearless Leader?" Nora asked him.

Jaune put his coffee down before he went to get his scroll out of his pocket. "Someone keeps blowing up my scroll and it's starting to irritate me." He pulled out his scroll and saw he had many messages. Seven from Coco, five from Sun, three from Cardin, two from Velvet and even one from Fox, which was shocking since he was blind. He skimmed through them and saw they were all wondering when he was going to tell them about his Semblance. Although, Fox was asking him to do it so Coco would stop complaining about not knowing. He sighed, "Looks like our friends really wanna know about my Semblance."

"Are you going to tell them?" Pyrrha asked.

Jaune thought about it for a while. "I already told them I would, so I kinda have to. But, I'll give them the shorthand version." He smirked. "With the tournament around the corner, I don't need them knowing all my secrets. Even if I do trust them."

Yang smirked, "So, you're not worried about us knowing? I think I'm insulted."

Jaune snorted, "Please, you don't know all my secrets. At least, not yet." He smirked before drinking the last of his coffee and leaving the common room. He was sending the other's messages to tell them where to meet up. He chose the tree they usually sat under. He didn't realize until now that the others were following him. He raised an eyebrow before he smiled and they went the rest of the way.

When they got there, CFVY, CRDL and Neptune were already there. Although, CRDL was keeping a distance from CFVY for obvious reasons. Jaune eventually saw Sun hanging from the branches of the tree from his tail. He smiled and waved at them. Most had a greeting for him. "About time, Arc." Coco said. "Any longer and I would've dealt with Winchester." She said with an edge and Cardin swallowed audibly.

Jaune sighed, "Cardin, can you just say it already?" he asked and Cardin gave him a fearful look. He learned to fear CFVY during the Breach. "Look, just say it and we can all move on. Plus, I have your back." That shocked CFVY.

Coco looked over her glasses at him with a glare while keeping a hand on her handbag. "Arc."

He just stared her down, "Coco." He replied neutrally as he pulled out his fire dust crystal and tossed into the air before catching it again.

Cardin took a deep breath before walking towards Velvet, who was hiding behind Yatsu and Fox while Coco stood in front of both of them. He stopped in front of them and to their shock, bowed his head. "I want to apologize. Last semester I did a lot of unforgivable thing to you and acted like a complete dick. You will probably never forgive me and I don't blame you if you do but from the bottom of my heart, I'm truly sorry." He said honestly. CFVY or anyone else didn't say anything. Cardin raised his head but didn't make eye contact with them before walking away. Jaune patted him on the back with his usual smile and Cardin gave a small one in return.

"Okay!" Jaune clapped his hands together. "Let's get settled." Jaune sat down while CRDL and CFVY sat across from him with Neptune between the two of them. Ruby sat on Jaune's lap and before she had him wrap his arms around her. She then leant her back into his chest and sighed happily. The others outside of RWBY and JNPR were shocked by this, although Sun had a mix between a knowing look and shock.

"I knew it!" Cardin said before turning to his team, "You guys owe me twenty Lien, each." He said happily. The other three just groaned.

"You guys were betting on my relationship?" He asked with a deadpanned expression.

Cardin gave him a grin and he just sighed in return, "So, when did this happen?" Cardin asked.

"This morning." Jaune said and Ruby blushed slightly at the attention. "Actually, to be honest…." Jaune started but was interrupted. Pyrrha sat on his left and wrapped her arm around his before leaning into him while Blake sat on his right to do the same. The others looked on confused and that confusion multiplied more so when Yang sat behind him, wrapping her arms gently around his neck and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Um, I'm kinda dating all four of them." He said nervously.

The others all stared at him in shock as Sun just laughed at their reactions. "What?!" they all shouted besides Fox and Yatsu but they were just as shocked.

"Dude! Teach me your ways!" Neptune bowed with his forehead touching the ground which made Sun fall out of the tree from laughing too hard.

Jaune sighed, "This is gonna be a long day." He deadpanned.


	52. Cards on the Table

After the others calmed down and Sun stopped laughing, they all just stared at Jaune being hugged by his four girlfriends. Each with a different degree of interest. Soon Coco spoke up, "You got skills, Arc. Such a playboy." She said teasingly.

"He's not a playboy!" Ruby shouted and almost jumped off of Jaune's lap, if not for him holding her there. Coco was taken back by that.

Jaune kissed the top of her head to calm her down, "It's fine, Rosebud."

She looked up to him, "But, Jaune…" she trailed off.

He smiled at her, "Coco doesn't know the full story and she was just teasing me. Most people will think that about me, but it doesn't matter. As long as I have you girls…" he made eye contact with his four girls as he was saying this. "Those people can go to hell. And if they so much as think of you four in any negative way, I'll send them there personally." He smiled and meant what he said.

They smiled at him and kissed him simultaneously; Ruby kissed his lips, Blake and Pyrrha kissed the cheek they were next to and Yang kissed his neck. Jaune chuckled at this and the others just stared at the display but soon smiled to see Jaune smile in a way none of them had seen. "So, what is the full story then, Arc." Coco asked.

Jaune sighed before he started to explain. "When I got here, I wasn't interested in love. Mostly because my last relationship ended in the worst way possible." He said this and subconsciously pulled Ruby close to himself and she gently held his hands. "The first person that I honestly fell in love with was killed a few months before coming here." They were all stunned by this and Velvet brought a hand to her mouth. Jaune sighed, "Trauma can be a real killer for romance. So, I didn't bother looking for anything of the sort but apparently, the way I acted made these lovely ladies fall for me. And eventually, I figured out that I loved them just as much. And here we are."

"So, you're saying you just decided to have a harem? And they agreed?" Neptune asked dumbstruck.

"Not exactly." Blake spoke up and they turned to her. "Jaune realized he loved us all equally and he didn't want to be with one of us if it meant hurting the others. He came to the conclusion that burying those feelings would be the best course to take." She glared mildly at him and he just kissed her nose, which caused her to blush. She coughed before continuing, "Luckily, he let slip his feelings for me one night and he explained everything to me. So, I convinced him to talk to all of us and explain the situation to them as well. We agreed that if he loved us equally and treated us with respect, we could make it work. And we've had little issue with it."

"It's been great so far." Yang said next. "At first, it was a little weird seeing him being with someone else as well. But just seeing how happy my partner and sister were, plus how happy he was being able to open his heart up, well." She hugged him a bit more. "It's been worth it. To see this side of him. Not just him being obsessed with his pain and loss but showing his love to us and embracing our love." She said with a smile before it shifted into her trademark smirk, "And the kissing and make out sessions have been mind blowing." This caused Jaune, Blake and Pyrrha to blush. Ruby pulled her hood over her head and buried her head into his chest.

Cardin chuckled at the display, "Your one lucky guy, Jaune. I'm surprised you hid it from everybody though."

"Um, I didn't." Everyone looked at him shocked, including his girlfriends. Jaune motioned to Sun, who wasn't shocked by most of this. "Sun knew about this."

Sun grinned and nodded. "What!?" Blake, Yang and Pyrrha shouted.

Jaune winced. "First, ow. Second, yeah. When he was flirting with you, Blake, I told him I was dating you so you wouldn't get annoyed and hurt him." She looked away sheepishly because that would've probably happened. He turned his head to look at Yang, "And when you were acting _very_ flirty, Yang, he asked me what was up. So I told him I was dating you as well." Yang looked away and tried to look innocent. He looked to Pyrrha finally, "And when I escorted you to the dance, he pretty much guessed and I confirmed." Pyrrha looked bashful at that.

"But, why did you tell him though? Especially before telling me and Ren." Nora asked looking over at him with a mix between a pout and glare.

Jaune thought for a second and shrugged, "Not sure. Sun just seemed like a trustworthy guy and I was right. Besides, he's pretty much become my closest guy friend, excluding Ren of course." He grinned at Ren when saying that and he just nodded with his own grin.

Sun was shocked by this but soon smiled and reached over with his fist, "Thanks, man. That means a lot." Jaune smiled and bumped his fist against Sun's.

Everyone was quiet for a while, until Velvet spoke up, "Jaune…. would you…. ever considering being with someone…. else as well?" She asked nervously while looking at him hopefully.

Jaune just looked at her and he got a sudden realization. He was shocked and started to think about this. He could feel his girlfriends looking at him, they weren't glares but just curious looks. He soon came to the only conclusion and he sighed before answering, "There's only one other person I'd like to be with. These four know who she is and she knows the situation. I'm giving her time to think things over." Velvet looked heartbroken, while Weiss glanced away slightly. "I'm sorry, Velvet, but it wouldn't be right. I'm still shocked this is even working so far. It wouldn't be fair for me to just fall for someone else and just expect Blake, Yang, Pyrrha and Ruby to be okay with it. It wouldn't be fair to them, at all. I swore that as long as they loved me, I'd prove to them that I was worthy of that love. I'm sorry." He looked down at that, not able to look into her hurt filled eyes any longer.

The girls, Weiss included, just looked at him. They knew Jaune was loyal to them but hearing him restate it made them feel happy. Or in Weiss' case, more confused. Velvet was just staring at the ground as well. She was hurting. She thought she'd have the chance to be with her crush but it seemed like there was no way. She would've started crying but Coco put a hand on her shoulder. Velvet looked to her and Coco gave her a sympathetic look over her sunglasses. Velvet gave her a sad smile before turning back to Jaune, "Thank you for being honest with me, Jaune. I'm sad but I understand. I hope you all the best of luck." She said genuinely with a smile. Jaune looked back to her and gave her a small smile in return.

"Well, since that's all taken care of, can we hear about your Semblance?" Sun asked in his usual carefree manner. Everyone turned to Jaune and he sighed.

"Simply. My Semblance allows me to manipulate the five basic elements by absorbing the appropriate dust. That's why I use five swords, each one holds the dust for said elements. Plus, when I use an element, a certain physical attribute is strengthened while another is weakened."

They all looked stunned. "That's pretty remarkable." Yatsu said for the first time since they all sat down. "Must take a lot out of you and must've taken a long time to master."

Jaune chuckled, "You're telling me." He looked to the sky. "It took months to just manipulate an element even slightly. But now, it's as easy as breathing."

"So, what was with the lightshow during the Breach?" Coco asked. "What element was that?"

Jaune thought for a second. "None of them." They looked confused. "In life or death situations, I can use my Semblance to temporarily fuse two separate elements into a more powerful element. The one you all saw was, plasma, a fusion of lightning and water."

"Wow." Velvet said mesmerized. "How many of those powerful elements do you have?"

"I refer to them as Advance Elements and in theory, there should be ten. But at this point, I only 'mastered' eight of them." He sighed, "Although, I try to down play my Semblance so I rarely use them and I use the basic elements sparingly. Most people believe my weapons control the elements due to the limited way I use them."

"Why would you do that? Dude, you're a total badass." Sun asked confused.

"I've gotten a lot of negative attention because of my Semblance. I try to avoid that nowadays." He said simply.

"So, what made you decide to reveal your Semblance during the Breach?" Yatsu asked sagely. "Not downplaying your part but we probably could've won out eventually."

Jaune just turned to Weiss. "You can thank Weiss for that decision."

Everyone turned to her and she looked stunned, "What did I do?" she asked.

Jaune just shook his head, "Nothing, Weiss. It was just when you faltered for a second and that Alpha almost got you." He looked down for a second. "That reminded me of my sisters, all those years ago. Naturally, my protective instincts kicked in and reminded me of why I wanted to be a Huntsman in the first place." He smiled at her.

Weiss blushed slightly at that but tried to play it off around the others, "Well, you're still a dunce. You could've been seriously hurt because of that."

Jaune shrugged, "Would just be another scar. I have two already and I don't regret either, they're more like badges of honor at this point." He chuckled. "Besides, my Semblance isn't perfect and I knew the repercussions. The abilities I 'forced' it to learn have costs. Elemental Backlash and Feedback are two of them."

The others were confused by these new terms but they figured he didn't want to elaborate anymore. "What do you mean by forced?" Neptune asked confused.

Jaune looked and saw the others, besides Ren and Nora, looking at him curiously. He looked around to make sure the cost is clear before pulling out his fire dust crystal. His Semblance activated and his eyes shifted to crimson. He opened his other hand and created a fireball in it. "Aura is an extension of one's soul. But a Semblance, that's the true essence of the soul itself. And represents the person fully. Some are simple and can only be used for a single purpose, like Yang's and Nora's. Some can be as versatile as the person can be, like Goodwitch or Ruby's. Some can be amplified by outside sources like dust, similar to Weiss' and Blake's. But mine, is like none other I've encountered." He stares at the fire ball and it shines crimson along with his right eye gaining the fiery appearance. "It pushes beyond its normal purposes because my soul is pushing past my limitations, to give me the strength that I need to protect as many people as I can." He said determinedly as the fireball shot into the air, as it reached a certain height, it burst into what looked like a firework explosion. The other looked on in shock before looking back at Jaune. "That's why I named it, Element Drive."

They all just looked at him for a bit. "So, is that part of why your swords combine?" Velvet asked while she was fiddling with her camera, for whatever reason.

He smiled at that. "Pretty much. Having the two dusts close to each other makes the strain of combining them more manageable. Plus, they give me a longer reach and more power behind my swings."

"So the more swords, the bigger the one sword gets?" Cardin asked. Jaune just nodded. Cardin got a smirk, "Careful, Jaune. Some people may think you're overcompensating for something." The rest of CRDL chuckled along with Neptune and Sun. Jaune just had a look that showed he wasn't amused.

"Compensating?" Nora asked confused. Everyone looked at her and she got a look of realization before she blushed slightly. She then had a confused look and turned to Jaune, "Jaune, wouldn't you be under compensating?"

Everyone had their jaws drop and turned to Jaune, who was blushing a deep red. That confirmed a few suspicions. "I thought you said you weren't ever in a physical relationship with her?" Neptune asked before he put his hand over his mouth.

Jaune's blush went away instantly and he had a look of pure rage. Until it disappeared for a smile with zero joy or humor in it. "Girls?" he asked and they all looked at him. "Mind letting me go? I need to do something." They let go and got off of him as he stood up and walked away from all of them. He got a good distance away before he stopped and took a deep breath. He shouted into the air and a stream of fire erupted from his mouth, into the air. It lasted for almost a full minute before Jaune doubled over to regain his breath. His eyes shifted back to normal as his breathing wasn't as ragged. He stood up and walked back over to the others. All of them were staring in awe and some with slight fear at what he did. Ren and Nora were included in that. When he was back over to them, he spoke up, "Well, that's better."

"Jaune!" Nora shouted before she got within his personal space. "How'd you do that?! Are you a dragon?! Why didn't you ever tell me?!"

Jaune placed a finger over her mouth to stop her. "I'm not a dragon, Nora. I learned to do that just before the Breach. I can only do it when I'm angry though." He took his finger away and she nodded before she sat down next to Ren again. He turned back to Neptune, "And again, no. Nora and I have never been in any physical relationship. Nothing against her but I see her as a _sister_." He stressed that and everyone nodded at that.

"So, how does she now about your 'compensation'?" Yang asked.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "We lived together for eight years. You're telling me you or Ruby never walked in on each other coming out of the shower before?" The sisters looked at each other before conceding the point. "Exactly, that's all that ever happened. And Nora." He said as he turned to her. "You will not tell anyone any sensitive material." He gave her a look.

She gave him a hurt expression, "I would never do that." She looked away with a pout. "Maybe your girlfriends though." She mumbled.

"What was that, Little Sister?" Jaune asked.

"Nothing!" she said quickly with a weak chuckle.

Jaune didn't buy that for a second but before he could delve deeper into that, Coco spoke up, "Hey, Arc. Why is the back of your shirt torn up?"

Jaune looked over his shoulder and indeed, his shirt was extremely torn up. "Right. Forgot how torn up it got from the bed incident. Wait." He looked at Yang, "Sun Fire, you've been behind me this entire time, why didn't you tell me?"

She shrugged, "I kinda liked seeing your muscles." She smirked at him.

He sighed, "Fine. I'm going to change really quick, be back soon." He waved at them and made his way back to the dorms. But he soon felt a familiar weight jump on his back. He turned slightly, "Any reason you're tagging along, Rosebud?"

She smiled at him, "Just wanted to spend more time with my boyfriend." She squealed a little bit after that. "It's so awesome to be able to call you that now!"

Jaune just smiled and leaned his head against her's. "Just as awesome as calling you my girlfriend." She giggled at that and they kept going to the dorms. When they got to JNPR's dorm, Jaune sat her down on his bed before he pulled off his shirt and threw it in the garbage. Ruby flushed at his muscles, she knew he was okay with her seeing him like this. More so now that they were a couple but it still made her flustered. Her eyes soon found the old scar running across his chest and the new one. She was just staring at them while Jaune was grabbing another black t-shirt from his closet. He turned and saw her staring before she quickly turned away from him. He sat down next to her with his shirt still off. "Do these bother you, Ruby?" he asked.

She looked at him wide eyed, "No. Not at all, Jaune." She looked back down at them. "Well, the older one is still shocking to look at but the new one." Her eyes trailed over to it. "It reminds me of, well…" She trailed off.

"Ruby." He said gently and she looked at him in the eyes. "I'm fine. I told this to Yang and Blake, don't think of this as a sign of a mistake but as a symbol of how much I love you." He smiled at her and she returned it. She looked back at the scars and he could see her hands shaking slightly. He reached down and gently took her right hand and brought it up to his chest before gently placing it over the older scar. She was shocked and looked up to him. He gave her a reassuring smile before taking his hand away. "It's okay. I don't mind and it might help you with the shock."

Ruby looked back down to the scar and started to gently move her hand over it. She felt all the ridges of the scar. "It feels, weird." She said absentmindedly. "Not bad but just different." Jaune had his eyes closed and just enjoyed the softness of Ruby's hand over his scar. He found this calming, whether it was the action or because it was Ruby was unknown to him. Ruby started to run her hand up the scar and saw the bullet scar and she gently moved her hand to touch it. Instantly, Jaune gasped and opened his eyes. She pulled her hand away instantly and looked worried. "I'm sorry, Jaune. I was curious." She said ashamed.

"I-its fine, Ruby." He said still stunned. "The scar is still sensitive and you shocked me."

She looked back up to him again, "Can…Can I touch it?" she asked nervously. Jaune nodded after a second or two. Ruby slowly brought her hand back up and just hovered over the scar. Jaune placed his hand behind her's to reassure her. She brought her hand down onto it gently and Jaune shuddered slightly at the contact. Ruby gently traced the scar with her fingers in a clockwise motion causing Jaune to shiver. Their eyes met and she stopped her hand while Jaune gently cupped her cheek. The two moved closer and kissed. It was chaste but both could feel the love and care just under the surface. The kiss ended shortly after and both smiled lovingly at the other.

"I love you." Both said in unison and both laughed at that. Jaune pulled his new shirt on before Ruby climbed back onto his back and they left the dorm room. They both had big smiles on their faces. He had no idea what was in store for him and his friends in the future but he was going to enjoy this love he had for as long as possible. And make sure to protect them with everything he had.


	53. Ask and You Shall Receive

Jaune spent the rest of the day hanging out with all of his friends and having a good time. Although, CRDL and CFVY were still wary of each other but luckily were being civil at least. They had a video game tournament in some fighting game, Fatal Combat or something. Although to have even brackets both Fox and Jaune decided to sit out. Fox because he was blind and Jaune because he felt it'd be unfair, he played tons of games with his sisters when he was home. Plus, he opted to bake a few treats for everyone. Cookies for Ruby, brownies for Velvet and Coco and cinnamon rolls and cupcakes for everyone else. CRDL, Sun and Neptune were shocked at his baking skills, while Cardin also claimed that he lost to Ruby because of the smells distracting him.

It was now the semi-finals, Ruby was facing off against Velvet and Yang was going against Nora. Ruby won her match but most thought she had an unfair advantage because she was sitting in Jaune's lap, again. That was a distraction for Velvet and gave Ruby more of a reason to win. Yang and Nora were even until Nora 'accidentally' broke one of the controllers and was promptly disqualified.

The final match was the battle of the sisters and everyone was on one side or the other. Weiss, Nora, Ren, Velvet, Yatsu, Cardin, and Neptune were rooting for Ruby. While Blake, Pyrrha, Coco, Russel, Sky, Dove and Sun were rooting for Yang. Fox decided to stay out of it and Jaune kept quiet because it wouldn't end well for him either way. Zwei was running around and seemed to be excited with whatever was happening. They were even and had to go to a third round to decide a winner. It looked like Ruby was about to win until Jaune got a devious idea. He leaned down and left a butterfly kiss on Ruby's neck. Ruby froze instantly and Yang was able to get a 'Brutalize' and win the match. Yang jumped to her feet and started celebrating. Everyone was either congratulating Yang or giving Ruby their condolences. Ruby was still shocked and processing what was going on until Jaune gently patted her head. "Better luck next time, Rosebud."

Ruby turned to face Jaune with a glare and blush, "Jaune, why'd you do that? I almost won." she whined.

Jaune just gave her a smirk and shrugged slightly, "I thought you'd like it."

Ruby blushed more and started to repeatedly punched him in the chest, which weren't exactly hard. "You big dummy!" Jaune pulled her close and gently kissed her on the lips. She slowly stopped punching him and soon just held his shirt. They broke apart and she just snuggled into his chest. "That's cheating." She said but wasn't exactly complaining.

Jaune smiled at her before they heard a slight coughing and both turn to see everyone looking at the two with teasing smiles. Ruby blushed again before pulling up her hood and hiding her face into his chest. Jaune chuckled slightly. Yang walked over to him with a smile, "Thank you for the assist, Hero. Here's a reward." She kissed him on the lips and he returned it. They pulled away and they smiled at each other.

"That is so unfair." Neptune said sadly and all the other guys nodded in agreeance which cause all the girls and Jaune to laugh.

They all called it a night and made it to their own dorms. RWBY had decided to share their two remaining beds since they weren't getting their bunk beds until the next day. Yang and Ruby would share the former's while Weiss would share with Blake. Weiss went in to change while Jaune said good night to the other's, kissing each goodnight. He changed into his nightwear before he laid in his bed and soon felt the familiar presence of Pyrrha crawling into bed with him. She cuddled up to him and he wrapped his right arm around her before he looked up at the ceiling. He had a great day, one of the best that he could remember. So, why did this ominous feeling still linger around? He just sighed before he looked at the peaceful look on Pyrrha's face. He smiled before gently kissing her forehead before he started to fall asleep.

* * *

Jaune was awoken a few hours later with his scroll vibrating on his nightstand. He looked at it and saw he had a message from Blake:

Blake: Sorry for waking you. I had another nightmare, can I borrow your hoodie?

Jaune was about to get up but remembered that Pyrrha was still holding him. He didn't want to disturb her so he sent her a reply.

Jaune: Yeah. Could you come get it? The door is unlocked.

He sent the message and a minute or so later, he heard the door open quietly. He saw Blake peak in and he raised his left hand to signal her. She slowly came in and quietly closed the door. She walked over to his bed before she knelt down and started to whisper, "Now I see why you didn't bring it to me." She said with a small smile.

Jaune returned it, "Yeah. She refuses to sleep in her own bed now." He heard Blake giggled slightly. He pointed to the chair at his desk. "My hoodie is hanging on the chair."

Blake nodded. "Thank you, Jaune." She said genuinely.

"No problem, Kitten." He said. He saw her stand up but instead of going to the chair, she just removed her bow before sliding into the bed as well. Jaune was shocked and just looked down at her. "Blake, what are you doing?" he asked.

She looked up at him, "Sleeping here. It's okay for Pyrrha, so why not me?" She said while giving him some big kitty eyes. Now Jaune was immune to puppy dog eyes and pouts, but this was something completely different. It was too adorable. He sighed and nodded. Blake smiled wide before cuddling up to him similar to Pyrrha.

Jaune wrapped his left arm around her before kissing her cat ear, "Good night, Kitten."

"Good night, Jaune." She responded before she fell asleep. He fell asleep shortly after, being surrounded by the warmth of two people he loved with all his heart.

Jaune woke up a little later than normal the next morning. He looked to see that both girls had a tight grip on his shirt and had their heads resting on his chest. He also felt Blake's leg intertwined with his left and Pyrrha doing the same with is right. He wasn't going anywhere for a while. He looked to see that both Nora and Ren were gone. Probably down at the cafeteria to get Nora some pancakes. He saw his scroll had a message and slowly picked it up so to not disturb the two girls. It was from Ren:

Ren: We went to go get breakfast. We decided to not wake you three. Also, I stopped Nora from getting another picture of you guys, so rest easy.

Jaune smiled at this and put his scroll down. He just resigned himself to laying there until his girlfriends got up. Jaune looked down at Blake's ears flicking slightly and he couldn't resist reaching over with his left hand and gently scratched them. He felt Blake cuddle up to him more and gently purr. He smiled at that. He loved hearing her do that. He bent down and gently kissed her ear that was closest to him while still scratching the other. He kissed it twice and was about to do it a third time when he heard a voice. "Jaune, please stop." Blake asked bashfully while her voice had a slight vibrating effect to it.

Jaune slowly pulled back and stopped his scratching. He saw that Blake was looking up at him with the biggest blush he ever saw her have before. He had a small smile, "Morning, Kitten. Sorry I woke you." He said sheepishly.

She slowly shook her head and looked down slightly with her blush intact. "It's okay. It felt really good. It was just a bit of a shock to wake up to that." She said shyly. She finally looked him in the eyes before slowly raising her head and kissing him. Jaune instantly returned it. The two had repeated the kiss before they kissed passionately and both deepened the kiss shortly after. Blake started to run her hand through his hair while gripping his shirt tightly. Jaune pulled her closer and was rubbing her cat ear again. Blake started to suckle on his bottom lip in appreciation while Jaune just enjoyed the sensation. The two were so engulfed in their own little world that hey forgot about the third occupant in the bed.

"What's going on?" they heard Pyrrha ask tiredly. They froze before they pulled apart and looked towards her. Pyrrha had her head raised and was rubbing her eyes. She looked at the two of them and after a second her tired mind turned back on. She had a confused look. "Blake? When did you get here?" she asked.

Blake nervously spoke up, "Last night. I had a nightmare and I asked to stay her with Jaune. Sorry."

Pyrrha felt a jolt of jealousy go through her but she quickly snuffed it out. "For what?" Pyrrha asked. "We're both dating him and as much as I would love to monopolize him, that wouldn't be right. I was just curious when you got here, especially without waking me."

"Well, you do sleep like a rock, Pyr." Jaune added.

She looked at him betrayed and Blake giggled. Jaune gently kissed her forehead as an apology. She smiled and kissed him back. They kissed for a bit before Pyrrha remembered that Blake was there and pulled away and sat up with a blush. "Sorry, Blake."

Blake just smiled. "For what? We both have a right to do that. Besides, we were doing something similar before you woke up."

Pyrrha looked at her wide eyed, "You're not…uncomfortable with doing that in front of people."

"Well, I would in public but we've only done that in front of you or the others so I'm okay with it." She answered. "Plus, there was that time Yang and I were both kissing him heatedly and you walked in."

Pyrrha's blush intensified at the memory, "And you were okay with that?"

Blake shrugged, "Pretty much. I mean, it was kind of weird that we were both doing that but it just felt nice and we all enjoyed it. So, I guess it worked out." Pyrrha seemed to be deep in thought after that. "Well, if you're not going to than I might as well." She said with a smirk before she started kissing Jaune again.

Jaune was hesitant at first, he looked at Pyrrha and she just nodded slightly. Jaune smiled before returning the kiss with Blake. The kiss soon deepened and Blake pulled herself as close to Jaune as she could. She took his tongue into her mouth and started to suck on it, similar to what he did before. Jaune started to rub her ear again and when she moaned into the kiss, he started to dominate the kiss. This went on until he felt another pair of lips on his neck. He felt Pyrrha suck and gently bite down on his neck and he pulled away from Blake and groaned. Pyrrha pulled away and he just looked at her, "You too?" he asked breathlessly.

Pyrrha had a teasing smile at this point, "Doesn't seem right for me to be the only one."

Jaune gained his own smirk. "In that case." His lips met Pyrrha's neck faster than she realized. She felt him kiss, lick and suckle on her neck. She wrapped her arms around him and moaned at the treatment. Jaune kept this up until he gently bit down. Pyrrha made a sound that was like a gasp mixed with a hiss. Jaune left a few butterfly kisses on her throat before he pulled away. "Now we're even."

Pyrrha's only response was to pull him close for a deep and passionate kiss. Jaune instantly returned it after his mild shock. The two pulled each other close, Jaune the best he could with one arm. He soon took control of the kiss by sucking on her lips which she moaned her appreciation. He soon took her tongue and sucked down on it. She gasped slightly but couldn't get enough of the new sensation. Jaune was slowly dragging his fingers up Pyrrha's back at the same time but stopped as soon as he felt some teeth on his neck. Blake bit down and Jaune groaned again. Blake parted from his neck but not before licking and kissing the new mark. Jaune just turned back to her. "Do you have to try and tear my throat out every time?" he asked.

She giggled, "Sorry. Blame my feline side." She wiggled her ears when she said that. Jaune got a dangerous idea at that moment.

"Screw it." He said as he pulled her close and gently took her cat ear between his lips and gently suckle on it.

Blake's eyes went wide and her blush came back in full. She started to mewl and moan with that. "Jaune, no!" she whined but Jaune paid her no mind. He kept suckling on her ear before he let go and gave the same attention to the other. By this point, Blake had the front of his tank top in her mouth to muffle the noise. She opened her eyes and saw Pyrrha just staring at her reactions with interest. Her blushing cheeks somehow became an even deeper shade and she tried to push Jaune away but lacked the strength. Jaune then gently kept the tip in his mouth before he gently nibbled on the ear. Blake would've screamed if not for the shirt still in her mouth.

Jaune let go immediately, afraid that he hurt her. He quickly looked down at her. "Blake, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!" he said in a panic. She looked up at him. Her face flushed, she was breathless and looking at him with a half-lidded expression. She quickly pounced on him and started to kiss him with renewed vigor and a bit more animalistic. Jaune had trouble keeping up with her but soon realized that his hand was slowly sliding down her back. Blake went wide eyed as she felt Jaune's hand on her right cheek. Unlike before, she was wearing her yukata so only her underwear was separating his hand from her rear. She moaned and kept kissing him as he gently massaged her.

Jaune was distracted when he felt Pyrrha take his right hand. He looked to see her take each one of his fingers into her mouth and suck on them. Jaune was shocked by this and Pyrrha had a blush as well. She was embarrassed by this but she wasn't about to lose to Blake. When she was done she lead his hand under her night shirt and gently placed his hand against her stomach. He gently started to caress her stomach and trace her belly button with his fingers. Pyrrha shivered at this and soon felt his hand slowly rise up to her utter joy. Jaune's hand reached just below her breasts and was gently rubbing her ribs. Pyrrha was getting impatient and took his hand and moved it to her left breast. Jaune's eyes almost shot out of his head with this realization: Pyrrha didn't wear a bra to bed. Jaune now had his hand on her bare chest under her shirt. He looked to her face and saw a content smile with her blush still there. He could feel her heartbeat and slowly started to massage her breast. Pyrrha started to moan with that and she was happy that Jaune was the first person to touch her in this way.

She soon felt her strength leave her and laid down beside Jaune. She moved her own hand under his shirt to feel his muscles while kissing his neck in appreciation. Jaune gently laid his thumb on top of her erect nipple and started to gently rub it. Pyrrha started to moan louder with that and at the same time Blake pulled away, her need of air was too great. Jaune barely got a breath in before Pyrrha attacked his lips next with nearly as much lust as Blake. Jaune did his best to return the same amount of energy while still trying to please his girlfriends. Blake was rubbing her head against his chest affectionately while she was still moaning at his touch.

Soon they all broke apart to breath. Both girls with their heads on his chest Jaune held them close. When they caught their breath the sat up and stared into his eyes, emerald and amber met sapphire and Jaune knew he was in trouble. 'Luckily', there was a knock on the door before it opened and they heard the familiar voice of Ruby. "Hey, Jaune, Blake was missing this morning. Is she in here?" she asked but froze when she saw the position they were in. The three just stared at the wide eyed reaper.

"Hey, Rubes, is Jauney in there?" Yang asked before looking in and seeing the same thing. Her eyes widened before getting a mischievous look in them. She leant against the door before speaking in a teasing tone, "Wow, Hero, the ninja and the gladiator at once?"

The three blushed. Jaune cleared his throat before he spoke, "It's not like that Yang. Pyrrha slept in my bed with me and Blake asked to stay because she had a nightmare. We just got carried away is all." He said sheepishly.

Yang just snickered at this. "Clearly." The three soon broke apart before they sat up but as soon as Jaune was up, he was tackled back onto his bed. He looked to see Ruby to be the culprit. She was giving him an adorable glare before she kissed him. It wasn't a deep or passionate kiss like he had with Blake and Pyrrha but he could feel her emotions behind it nonetheless. He kissed her back and gently held her close.

Ruby pulled back and just looked into his eyes, "It's not fair that they get to be with you and I can't." she said with a pout.

Jaune chuckled slightly, "Sorry, Rosebud." He gently stroked her hair with that and she smiled her usual smile at him. He sat up with her still in his lap.

"She's right." He heard Yang say. He looked up to see her walking over to him. "We need you just as much as they do. But Rubes, you still need to wait a while for _that_." He heard Ruby whine before Yang leant down in front of him. "My turn." Is all she said in a sultry tone before kissing him and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Jaune just sighed internally at this. 'Is this going to be my life from now on?' he thought. He returned Yang's kiss. 'Oh well, I wanted this so I better get used to it.' But even in this sweet moment, that ominous feeling was still in the air and Jaune couldn't ignore it. Something big was coming.

* * *

 **A/N - Sorry for the lack of an update. I needed a small break from TES. Even though I know exactly where the story is going, it just hasn't been flowing as easily as before. So, I used my short time off to right a chapter for Distortion. I hope you all understand. Enough of that though. Another chapter will either be out Friday or Saturday so look forward to it!  
**


	54. Listening to the heart

Jaune had spent the rest of the day and the next two days spending as much time with his girlfriends. After the Breach, Ozpin gave both the teams a week off for a 'successful' mission. So, Jaune decided it'd be good to spend time with the people he loved. Although, it was exhausting for him. Trying to split himself evenly between the four women was nearly impossible but he somehow managed to do it. But eventually they gave him some rest.

Yang and Ruby had gone to Vale for some sisterly bonding time and Pyrrha took Ren and Nora out for a similar reason. Blake was the one that understood how exhausted he was and brought it to the other's attention. She simply kissed him on the cheek before heading to the library. "Have a nice day to enjoy yourself." Was all she said.

Jaune smiled with that. Small things like this were what really showed how much those girls cared for him. After that he decided to head down to the sparring rooms to work on his swordplay. He set it to an intermediate level which would push him but not exhaust him. As the combat drones were being set up, he put on his headphones and used his scroll to play some music. The training started as This Will Be The Day started. And all he did was smile as he destroyed drones for the next hour.

When he was finished, he put his armor and swords back into his locker before taking a quick shower. He started to make his way to the edge of the Emerald Forest to practice his Semblance. He had gotten a new idea for his Advance Elements. As he was making his way there he heard a familiar voice calling out to him. "Hey, Arc!"

He smiled before turning and facing the fashionista herself, "Hey, Coco. What's up?"

She stopped in front of him with her hand on her hip. "Nothing much. Saw you without your usual harem so I was wondering what was going on." She said with a teasing smirk.

Jaune blushed for a second. "Could you not refer to them as that? It sounds very degrading."

Coco nodded after a second, "Fair enough. So, where are they?"

"Well, Yang and Ruby are spending a day together. Pyrrha is hanging with Ren and Nora. And Blake went to library. They kinda saw me running myself ragged to try and spend as much time as possible with them and they decided that I needed a day to unwind." He smiled at that.

Coco smiled. "Interesting. So, what have you been doing to unwind?"

"Well, I spent the last hour destroying combat drones to work my swordplay. Now I'm heading to the Emerald Forest to work my Semblance."

Coco looked over her sunglasses in disbelief at him. "For your day off, you're training?"

"Yup!" Jaune said cheerfully.

"You're a strange one, Arc." She said as she pushed her sunglasses back into place.

Jaune shrugged at that, "I've been called worse and most weren't as pretty as you."

She leaned towards him with that, "Careful, Arc. Keep that up and your girls will think you're cheating on them."

"They know I'd never do that. Besides, I made myself pretty clear before on where my heart lies." He turned away slightly at that. "How's Velvet?"

"She's doing okay. Still a bit hurt but she's getting better."

"I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to lead her on." He looked back at Coco, "I'm actually surprised that Yatsu or you didn't try to kill me for that."

Coco waved it away, "We know you. We know that wasn't your intention. Actually, I respect you for being straightforward with her. A lot of guys would've taken advantage of her. Some would've tried to make the relationship work even if they didn't have feelings for her, either out of pity or not wanting to hurt her. But you were honest with her, so she'll come around and it'll keep your friendship intact."

Jaune gained a small smile with that. "Thanks, Coco. That makes me feel a bit better but I still feel bad."

"Look, she'll be fine. She's tougher than she looks. She is training to be a Huntress after all."

Jaune chuckled slightly, "Yeah, I know." He thought of something as he said that. "Hey, Coco? A few people were under the impression you had feelings for me, is that at all true?" he asked nervously.

Coco just stared at him before she started to shake slightly. Jaune was worried that he just enraged her and was about to run. Until he heard he start to giggle before she started laughing. She calmed down not long after and removed her glasses to look at him directly. "Your sweet kid but you're not my type. Don't get me wrong, you have a lot of qualities that I like and respect but you're not exactly what I'm looking for in a partner. I like the fact that you appreciate my looks but not in a sexual manner and you are really great to tease but no, I didn't see anything beyond friendship."

Jaune smiled at that. "Good to know. Hurting Velvet was bad enough. Hurting you would've been a death warrant."

"True." She smiled at him. "So are you getting together with the Ice Princess?"

Jaune stared at her wide eyed, "How did you learn about that?!" He asked in a panic.

"I'm pretty observant. You give her the same look you give the other four, although it is restrained. She also gives you a conflicted look. So, obviously something was going on between you two."

Jaune sighed at that. "Yeah. Weiss is the other girl. She knows everything but I'm giving her time to think. She has a lot to lose by getting into this kind of relationship with her being the Heiress to the SDC." He thought for a second before he continued. "Actually, we've been avoiding each other as of late. I don't know whether it's her, me or both of us but I think we need space."

He felt Coco place a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, have some confidence. She would've instantly shot you down if she didn't have some sort of feelings for you. Just give her time and you'll have your Ice Princess, Jaune." She smiled at him.

Jaune was shocked but returned it. "That's the first time you called me by my first name."

She just smirked at him, "I only called you by your last name to tease you but with Yang as a girlfriend, I don't think I'm needed for that." The two shared a laugh before they said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

* * *

Jaune made his way to the Emerald Forest and went to the usual clearing at the edge of the forest. When he arrived, he grabbed his earth dust clips and activated his Semblance. He stomped on the ground and four huge rocks erupted from the ground. "That takes care of the targets." Is all he says as he eyes shift back to blue.

He brought his left hand to his water clips and his right to his wind clips. He used his Semblance to absorb their energies. But unlike usual, he didn't absorb a large amount of energy, just enough for what he intended. His eyes shifted to their respective colors before he stood across from the first rock target.

He created a small vortex in his right hand and in his left, summoned enough water to fit into his palm. He held his hands apart from each other as he started to weave the two energies in his aura together. At the same time the two elements were physically knitting themselves together between his palms. At the peak of the fusion, his eyes shifted to the icy blue and the ice was fully formed. At that instance, he shot his hands forward and the ice fully solidified into a huge icicle and smashed into the rock.

Jaune smiled at that and his eyes shifted back to normal. This variation still used more aura than an attack from his basic elements but it was far less draining in the long run. If he could master this, he could use his Advance Elements for precise attacks instead of huge destructive ones. He looked down at his hands. They were cold but nowhere close to the bone chilling cold he'd usually feel, another bonus. But that could change with consecutive attacks and his speed needed to increase for this tactic to work. He sighed, "Well let's get to work." Was all he said as he went back to the grind.

Over the next hour or so, Jaune kept working with his Ice element. His speed with creating it was increasing but wasn't at the level he was comfortable with but it was getting there. He was able to control the ice better as well. He could create icicles, single large ones or multiple smaller ones, or other objects out of ice. He also found that he could delay the freezing of the ice before it was completely formed, that was until it hit a target to freeze it. Which was why the rock target was now covered in a layer of thick ice now. He also found out he could freeze objects by physical contact. He only found out by accidentally freezing the tree he was leaning against. His hands would still get cold but even after all of his training, his hands never reached the cold he was used to from using ice but again, he barely started to use this new tactic. A lot was still unknown.

He was now sitting down and resting before he drained himself of his aura completely. He was using a variant of the aura technique to try to accelerate his body's aura production rate. Although, it wasn't by much. After his aura was at a safe level or what he considered safe, he started to work on his Wood element. He had similar effects like he had with ice, the speed of its creation was slowly increasing with the more he used it but he still had to rely on already exiting trees to use these abilities. So instead of firing the energy at the rock target, he'd aim for a nearby tree before focus on what he wanted to happen. He found that if he stayed in contact with the tree, he could control it far more effectively and the duration he could control it, also increased. He also picked up an acorn when he got a random idea. He sent his energy into it and threw it at the rock. The acorn grew into a wooden javelin halfway to the target before it hit the rock and formed a tree around and even through the rock. He just stared wide eyed with his mouth open. "Okay. That was effective."

Jaune took a break after that and focused on restoring his aura quicker, like he did before. Once he was ready, he started to work on Lava. This one was a bit more difficult to work on. He'd have to have the rock ready beforehand before initiating an attack. He came up with the idea to control and pull the necessary rocks to him just before the fusion was done and then channel the energy immediately into the rock. This made the attacks feel more close to his earth attacks and made him feel more comfortable with these attacks. This lead to the rock target being completely melted by the end. Also the Elemental Feedback was similar to ice, his hands would feel warm or hot but they wouldn't burn. Overall, after the initial difficulty, Lava was the fastest he was learning to use.

Jaune took one last short break before he decided to continue. Doing the same thing he did for his other breaks. When he was ready, he started to train Plasma. Unlike the others though, Plasma was being formed much faster and with him already used this element through his whole body, it was pretty easy to get an idea on what to do. He spent more time working with this element than the others, especially do to the Feedback not leading to full paralysis but just a faint numbing to his hands. The rock was little more than pebbles when he was done.

Jaune chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Went a bit overboard. Oh well, let's work on one of the others." He was reaching for his clips when he felt lightheaded suddenly. He leaned against the closest tree and shook his head, "May have pushed myself too far this time." He sat down at the base of the tree and leaned more against it. His eyes started to close, 'Maybe a few minutes of sleep couldn't hurt.' He thought before he passed out.

* * *

Jaune awoke sometime later. He wasn't sure if it was a few minutes or hours but he felt better. He realized that he was no longer sitting up but laying down. 'Must've shifted in my sleep.' He thought before another thing gained his attention. 'What is so soft under my head?' He turned his head and saw Weiss was sitting against the tree and that he was using her lap as a pillow again. He blushed faintly and noticed that she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at something in the distance with a far-off look in her eyes as she was running her hand through his hair in a calming manner. Jaune brought up his hand and gently took hold of her other hand that was on his chest. Weiss jumped at the contact and stopped playing with his hair before she looked down at his smiling face. "Hey."

She returned it with her own small smile, "Hey."

"So, when did you get here?" he asked.

"Practically from the beginning." Jaune's eyebrows shot up in shock. "I ran into Coco and she let slip that you were training your Semblance. I came down here to make sure you didn't do anything too risky." She said with a slight edge to her voice. Jaune chuckled nervously until she spoke again, "But, you didn't do anything _too_ crazy. So, you must have begun to learn not to push yourself too hard."

He smiled, "A wise person told me about that, a lot. I decided to listen."

Weiss had a faint blush, "Dunce. Why didn't you tell me you were going to train your Semblance?"

Jaune looked away slightly, "I didn't wanna bother you." He sighed, "We've kinda drifted apart and I didn't know whether it was you or me that did it. And if it was you, I knew it was because you were thinking things over still."

She nodded slowly, "I noticed that too. I think it was a little bit of both of us." She looked away hesitantly. "But, I've figured it out. I have a lot to say. It may take a while but would you mind listening?"

She looked back down at him when he gently squeezed her hand he was still holding. "I'm right here, Snow Angel."

She smiled at him before taking a deep breath, "Growing up, I had to always agree with my father and do what he wanted me to do. Honestly, my childhood was more centered around pleasing him than enjoying myself and growing up naturally. I was exposed to the harshness of the world as a child and that lead to, well how I am today. Everything I did was to try and impress my father or to make our family more successful. Hell, even my singing was started because my father thought it would be a good image for the company. I enjoyed it still but it felt more like something being forced on me rather than something I wanted."

She stopped for a second and she felt Jaune gently rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb, gently comforting her. She saw that he was just listening intently to her, no judgement or pity. Just acceptance. She continued with that. "The first thing that I ever wanted to do for myself was to become a Huntress. To not be in my father's grasp and to be able to make my own path in life, not the path my father planned for me. As you could imagine, my father was not pleased. He didn't want the heiress of the company to be bothered with fighting monsters. My sister had already done that and he wasn't going to lose a second daughter to that life. But, I refused to do that. I wanted to be a Huntress and I wasn't going to back down from him."

She squeezed his hand tightly as she begun to talk again. "He made me a deal: If I could pass a test of his choosing, he'd let me continue with my dream of being a Huntress. I accepted. He had me fight an Arma Gigas, a giant suit of armor that was possessed by a Grimm. It was a hard fight and I was pushed to my limit. That was the fight that gave me this scar." She said sadly. "That was the first time that I stood up for myself and fought for something I wanted with all my heart. It was liberating and it was the best choice of my life." She looked down at him, "If not for that, I wouldn't have met so many amazing people or made the best friends I could've ever imagined." She smiled at him, "Or met someone I could fall in love with."

His eyes widened at that. He was not expecting her to confess so suddenly. He was overjoyed but he was still worried. He looked away slightly, "I'm honored and extremely happy, Weiss, but are you sure? You could lose a lot being with-" She silenced him by putting the hand that was entangled in his hair over his mouth. He looked at her with a surprised look and she was just giving him an even stare.

"Don't you say another word." She said and he nodded before she took her hand away. "I have compromised on many things in my life but there are two things I refuse to do that with: my life as a Huntress or my feelings for you. And before you say anything about giving up my dream, I'm not giving up on it. Just changing it. I will be a Huntress and I will bring the SDC back to its former glory, along with being with you. No arguments."

Jaune was just laying there, thinking. Finally, he sighed. "Well, if you're absolutely sure about this then I won't argue." He smiled at her and she returned it.

Weiss blushed a bit and started to speak hesitantly. "Now that we are a couple, would you mind kissing me? To make it official."

Jaune sat up and gently wrapped his arms around her. She looked up at him with her blush still present. He smiled down at her. "As you command." He leaned down and Weiss raised her head to meet his lips. The kiss was gentle and sweet. Jaune could feel the love behind her lips but also felt a bit of hesitance. They broke the kiss and looked at each other. He smiled but Weiss had a nervous look in her eyes.

"Sorry, Jaune. I'm not very experienced with this kind of thing. It probably wasn't great."

Jaune gently caressed her cheek, "It's okay, Weiss. I'm just glad we are finally together."

She blushed more and had a thought, "Would you mind helping me with this? I did help with your Semblance after all."

Jaune chuckled, "Of course, Snow Angel." He leaned in and kissed her again. She kissed him back and slowly wrapped her arms around him. The two kissed repeatedly and Weiss was starting to become more confident. Neither made an attempt to deepen the kisses, they just wanted to enjoy the sweet moments together. The two stopped and rested their foreheads together. "I love you, Weiss"

"I l-love you t-too, Jaune." She spoke nervously.

Jaune chuckled slightly, "You're adorable."

She blushed further and gently smacked him on the shoulder. "Quiet, you dunce."

Jaune just nodded with a smirk. "Well, do you wanna head back?" She nodded and Jaune picked her up in his arms bridal style. She blushed but didn't bother to argue. No one was around and she couldn't deny how amazing it felt. When they got close enough to Beacon, Jaune let her walk and the two made their way to the common room. They sat on the couch and Weiss sat next to him and leant her head against his shoulder. Jaune gently wrapped his arm around her as his remaining hand held her's and the two just enjoyed their time together.

Until they heard a familiar voice speak up, "That is so cute!" They looked up and saw the remainder of their teams in the doorway and Nora had her scroll out. Weiss tried to jump away but Jaune just kept a hold on her.

"Nora." He said and she looked at him. "You are not going to send that to anyone. Except, for me and Weiss, got it?" He said with a smile

She nodded happily and sent them each a copy. They both smiled, Weiss' was a bit bashful. "So, you two together now?" Yang asked with a teasing grin.

Jaune nodded, "Yup. Apparently, she's just as stubborn as the rest of you." He said with a smirk.

Ruby jumped into the air with an excited yell, "Awesome! Now my BFF can be just as happy as the rest of us."

They all laughed at her antics. Weiss tried to deny the whole BFF thing but she had a small smile the entire time. And even though she was embarrassed with all the added attention, he noticed that she never let go of his hand for a single moment.

* * *

 **A/N - Wow, this is very late! Sorry about that but life threw me a curve ball and its hard to upload without internet. Oh well, its here now and as a bonus I'm uploading another chapter! Catch you all later.  
**


	55. Misunderstandings

Several days had passed since Weiss officially started to date Jaune and things have been going swimmingly. Their week off was over and they were all attending classes again. Things were different though, a few of the girls were more open to showing their feelings for Jaune in public. They all sat down and talked about whether they should be public with their relationship or not. They all had different opinions and they all eventually turned to Jaune. He simply said that it was up to them and he'd agree with whatever they decided on. They eventually agreed that they could be more affectionate in public but not be, as Weiss stated, 'lovey-dovey'.

Ruby was probably the most affectionate after that. She'd have Jaune carry her more and if she could, she would be sitting in his lap. She also asked him to give her kisses on the head and the cheek when he felt like it and she would do the same for him. Most of the student body just thought that Ruby was just acting more relaxed around Jaune. They always seemed to be like this and many thought that they were in a relationship since the first semester but no one was going to say anything, especially with Yang around.

Yang would hug him and kiss him on the cheek more. If they were sitting together, she'd pull his arm around her so she could sit as close to him as possible. She would also try to get him to feel her up but he would promptly deny to do so, with a huge blush. She knew he wouldn't but she loved to see him get flustered like that, she found it adorable. The other students just thought that Yang was teasing him more because she preferred his reactions over anyone else's. Although, the few that saw her kiss Jaune on the cheek during the dance were starting to believe that they had gotten together. But none were going to ask due to the temperament of both blondes.

Pyrrha was probably the most affectionate after Ruby. She'd cuddle up to and hug him whenever she could. She would also kiss Jaune on the cheek when she thought no one was looking. If she felt like someone was looking at them she would quickly remove herself from him, thoroughly embarrassed. It was practically common knowledge that Pyrrha had feelings for her partner and leader. Their classmates just thought she was upping her game to try to get him to notice her feelings for him. He could be oblivious with some things.

Blake and Weiss were probably the most resigned with showing him affection in public. They didn't do much of anything besides holding hands with him on occasions. Although with Blake's stealth skills, she'd find ways to silently kiss Jaune in class when no one was none the wiser. A skill that Jaune was still amazed over. She'd also find secluded areas to pull him into to have light make-out sessions. Weiss really didn't try much, mostly because she was still hesitant with PDAs. She only recently was able to kiss Jaune in front of the others without blushing up a storm or acting bashfully. Jaune missed those adorable moments though but telling her would only annoy her.

Everything seemed to be going great for Jaune, except for two things. First, that ominous feeling was still in the air. It never dulled or intensified, it just seemed to linger. This bothered Jaune to no extent but he couldn't figure out what was going on. The second was Yang. Ever since the Breach, Yang had seemed to have something on her mind that was clearly bothering her. Jaune tried to ask her about it but she didn't want to talk about it and would advert this attention with a make-out session. She was similar to him in the fact that if she didn't want to talk about something, she wouldn't. He was very concerned, especially because the classes were adding more stress and Jaune was getting worried for his Sun Fire. He was hoping she'd come to him soon before things got worse.

Today didn't make things any better. Ruby had gotten a cold when she was training in the Emerald Forest and it started to rain. Being the protective and caring older sister, Yang made sure that Ruby was taken care of all day. Which meant that Yang was running back to the dorm every time she didn't have class to check up on Ruby. She was running herself ragged and with her already stressed out mind, she looked terrible.

They were all sitting down for lunch and they were all watching the clearly stressed out Yang scarf down her food. Weiss decided to look out for her teammate. "Yang, slow down. You're going to choke."

At that time, Yang was hitting her chest to force the food down her throat. She took a huge gulp of her drink before sighing in relief. "No can do. I need to hurry and check up on Ruby."

Blake spoke up next, "Yang, Ruby is fine. It's just a cold. You don't need to act like she's dying or push yourself this far."

"Look, I'm fine. I just need to check on Ruby." Yang jumped before sighing in content as she felt a pair of hands gently massaging her shoulders. She turned to see Jaune looking at her with a mix or concern and care.

"Your tense shoulders say otherwise, Sun Fire." She didn't reply. She just closed her eyes and hummed in satisfaction. He kept up the massage and leaned down a bit to talk to her. "Why don't you just enjoy the rest of your lunch? I can check up on her for you."

"I'd appreciate it, Jaune. But I don't want to inconvenience you." She spoke up.

Jaune chuckled before he hugged her and rested his chin gently on top of her head. "I think checking on my sick girlfriend and making sure you don't stress out are both my jobs. What kinda boyfriend would a be otherwise?"

Yang just sat there in his arms, thinking. She finally sighed, "Alright. You win but don't get used to you getting your way so easily, Jauney." She said with a smirk.

Jaune just smiled before he kissed the top of her head, "Of course not. The battle is half the fun." Jaune went to throw out his garbage before grabbing a sandwich, water bottle and a bowl of strawberries for the sick reaper. He also grabbed a hot chocolate as a treat for her and used his fire Semblance to make sure it stayed the right temperature. Jaune arrived at RWBY's door and gently knocked on it while balancing the tray of food on his forearm. "Ruby? Can I come in?"

Jaune heard an adorable sneeze before he heard her say weakly, "Yeah, come in, Jaune."

Jaune opened the door and saw Ruby leaning against her pillows. She was sitting up and reading a comic book that he loaned her earlier today in her pajamas. He was relieved to not see her laying in a bed suspended from the ceiling and in an actual bunk bed. She looked slightly flushed from the cold but she seemed fine otherwise. "How you feeling, Rosebud?"

She blew her nose into a tissue before she spoke up. "A bit better. It's just annoying that I have to stay in bed all day. But where's Yang? I expected her to see me."

He smiled before walking in and closing the door. "I convinced her to take a break and decided to come in her stead." He placed the hot chocolate on the bookshelf between the two bunkbeds before stepping onto the frame of Weiss' bed to be eye level with Ruby. He handed her the tray of food. "Sorry it isn't much but I didn't want you to overstuff yourself."

"That's fine." She said happily as she took a bite from her sandwich. "What's in the bowl?" She asked with her mouth partially filled.

He chuckled before grabbing it and taking the plastic lid off of it. "Just a small treat for you. These'll do you better than a platter of cookies."

She looked into the bowl and had a huge smile on her face, "Strawberries!" She shouted happily before shoving one in her mouth with a joyful hum.

"I thought you'd like them." He said with a smile before he took one with his left index finger and thumb. Before he could get it close to his mouth, Ruby ate it but kept his fingers in her mouth. She was giving him a glare with no heat behind it. Jaune just raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay, okay. You win. They're all yours." She smiled but didn't let go of his fingers. "Uh, can I have my fingers back?" She gave him a look like she was thinking before she shook her head. Before he could say anything else, he felt her lick the tips of his fingers and gently nibble on them. Jaune was utterly shocked by this. He never expected for her to do something like this.

But he had no intention of doing anything like that with her not feeling well. He reached down with is right hand and picked up the hot chocolate. Ruby quickly eyed the mug before Jaune spoke, "Fine. If I can't have my fingers, you can't have the hot chocolate I got you." He said with a smirk. Ruby looked between the mug and Jaune while having a conflicted look on her face. She soon sighed and let go of his fingers. "Thank you, Rosebud." Was his response as he handed her the mug.

Ruby took a big sip of it and sighed in appreciation. "Thank you! It's the perfect temperature, how'd you do that?" she asked. Jaune just raised his right index finger and used the remainder of his fire aura to create a small flame at the tip. Ruby just looked at it before she spoke again, "Right, that makes sense." She said with a bashful smiled before she took another sip. "But why not coffee? You know I drink it."

Jaune just raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "I wouldn't call that coffee. More like coffee flavored cream with a lot of sugar." He said teasingly.

She blushed and looked away with a pout, "I have a sweet tooth. I just don't know how you drink something so bitter."

Jaune gently rubbed the top of her head before he moved it to the back of her head and gently pushed her forehead against his. He just looked into her silver eyes and spoke gently, "Maybe because you add so much sweetness into my life."

She blushed deeper and was having difficulty looking into his eyes. "You say the sweetest but cheesiest things. You know that?" she said bashfully.

He chuckled and pulled back slightly. He gently moved a lock of hair behind her ear as he spoke. "Blame my dad for that."

The two looked into each other's eyes before Jaune moved in slightly. Ruby pulled back slightly with that. "I don't want to get you sick."

Jaune still had his hand on the back of her head and gently moved her closer before he gave her a brief but loving kiss. He looked her in the eyes, "Worth it." Is all he said with a smile. She returned with her own smile and she leaned in for another kiss. After that, Ruby continued to eat her lunch while the two just talked about whatever came to mind. Although, they mostly talked about the X-ray and Vav comic he loaned her. Eventually, she was done eating and Jaune just spent time with her. He took out his scroll to check the time before he sighed in annoyance, "Well, I better head to my next class. You gonna be okay without me?" he asked with a grin.

She smiled at him, "I think I can handle myself." Jaune leaned in and gave her another brief kiss before he pulled back. He then felt Ruby quickly close the gap between them and give him a loving kiss. This made Jaune lose his footing and fall to the floor. Ruby quickly moved to the edge of the bed to look down at him in concern, "Jaune?!" she asked before she got lightheaded from the quick movement and caused her to fall off the bed as well. Jaune quickly got underneath her and caught her. Jaune was now laying on his back with her half straddling, half laying on him. Before he could ask if she was alright, the door opened up to reveal the rest of her team. Weiss and Blake looked surprised while Yang just looked mad.

"What the hell is going on!?" she shouted. The two quickly stood up. Yang stomped over to Jaune and stared him in the eyes. "You gonna answer or what?"

Jaune just put his hands up in front of him, "I lost my balance and fell off the bunk bed, Ruby was concerned and fell off her bed when she went to check on me. I caught her as she fell. Nothing else happened."

Yang just kept staring him in the eyes, "A likely story. Or this is the reason you wanted to check on her. To take advantage of her." She said with an edge.

Jaune was shocked by this and a familiar heat was rising inside of him. "I have never taken advantage of any of you girls, so why the hell would you even think I'd do that with Ruby? Especially when she is sick?" He said with an edge.

She poked him hard in the chest, "Maybe because you thought you could get away with it!"

"What is the matter with you!? I think after being with me for so long, you'd know more about who I really am! I have no secrets from you, unlike how you've been hiding things from me!"

"Maybe not but your still have a death grip on your past! For all we know, you could be using us as replacements for Amber!"

As soon as she said that a familiar white light engulfed the room and pushed everyone back a few steps. They all looked to see Jaune with his eyes glowing with his aura, this was a level of anger they never saw before. "How dare you! How fucking dare you!" He said this as he stepped closer to Yang and she instinctively took a step back. She never had a reason to afraid of Jaune, not until now. "You told me you of all people know the pain I was going through and now here you are shoving it in my face?! Where do you get off!? I know your regrets too, Yang, and I would _never_ think of using it against you!" Jaune than just stared down a fearful Yang before he forcefully calmed himself down and placed a hand over his eyes. "I knew this was mistake." Was all he said just over a whisper. He made his way over to the window without looking any of them in the eyes. He opened it and jumped out, using his aura to soften his landing and leaving a small crater. He put his hands in his pockets and slowly walked away with his head down.

Yang was still in shock and looked around to see Blake and Weiss giving her glares, while Ruby was just as shocked as she was. "You really stepped over the line." Ruby spoke up softly.

Blake nodded at that, "Yeah, you did. Jaune would never do anything to hurt us. He would do everything in his power to protect us and you just accused him of something awful."

"And we all know that Jaune wouldn't be dating us if he was still holding onto his past. Him trying to convince us not to date him just showed he really cares for us and not just as replacements for his first love." Weiss spoke up with an edge.

Yang looked down in shame, "I know. I don't know why I say that."

"Because you're beyond stressed and won't let anyone help you. Not even Jaune and you took it out on him because your emotions were high." Blake answered her.

Yang nodded, unable to speak. There was a silence until Ruby spoke up, "What did he mean by, 'This was a mistake?'"

Yang looked up and the sisters saw Blake and Weiss exchange looks. Weiss sighed, "Jaune was worried that him dating you two would strain your relationship."

The two were shocked but Blake spoke up before they could say anything, "Jaune's main concern is that this relationship we are all in will damage all of our relationships with each other. More so with you two because you already lost your mother and he didn't want you two to lose the other if things went badly."

"Why didn't he tell us?" Yang asked stunned.

The two shrugged before Blake answered again, "He didn't want to cause an unnecessary problem. He told us because we asked him how he felt about dating both of you."

"You need to talk to him, Yang. You owe him an apology, at the very least." Weiss told her and she nodded before leaving to find him.

* * *

Jaune found himself sitting on the edge of the cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest for the last couple of hours or so. He had skipped his last few classes of the day but he didn't care. He wasn't thinking of anything, just looking out over the forest. He was in a lot of pain and didn't want to move. He just wanted to stare out over the view and let everything else just fall away. He heard someone walking behind him but didn't turn, didn't move. They sat down beside him, a foot separating the two of them. Neither said anything for what seemed like an eternity until Yang spoke up, "You're not going to talk, are you?"

Jaune wasn't going to speak up but decided to not bite his tongue for once. "Wow. You're a genius."

"I don't need to be to know you're mad." She said.

"And you know why." He said with no emotion in his voice. "I thought I meant more to you than that."

"Jaune, I'm so sorry about that." She said with so much regret in her voice.

"Sorry you ever thought of doing it or sorry you actually went through with it?" He said without facing her and his pain coming through his voice. "After all this time, how could you think of using my deepest regrets against me? Don't you know what our bond means to me? And to have you abuse it in that way…" he took a deep breath. "Was I just kidding myself?"

Yang wrapped him in a hug and buried her face into his shoulder. "I'm so, so sorry, Jaune." She said with a shaky voice and he was shaking as well.

"I thought you promised to get all the information if a misunderstanding between me and Ruby ever happened again? Not just jump to a conclusion."

"I screwed up, Jaune, I screwed up so very bad. I did something unacceptable and I deserve to have you break up with me. But I don't want to lose you." She said crying. "I just can't."

Jaune wanted to hold her, to stop her from crying but he couldn't. "I just never imagined that you could or would hurt me like this." He said above a whisper.

"I know. I know." She said weakly as she held him tighter, desperate to keep them together.

"I don't want to lose you either, Yang, but how am I supposed to trust you, again? How do I know you won't do this again?" he asked as he finally turned to her.

"I swear to you; I'll never do it again. And if I do, I'll take whatever consequence you think of." She looked into his eyes. They were red from crying and she still had tears running down her face.

He looked into her eyes and saw regret, sadness, fear but above all else pleading and a look that showed she was telling him the truth. He raised his hand and gently wiped away he tears. "You do something like this again, and I'll cut and dye your hair." He said with a very small smile.

Her eyes widened for a second before she started to cry more and buried her face into his chest. "You have a deal." She said while crying.

Jaune finally wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close before resting his forehead on top of her head. "Then I forgive you, my Sun Fire."

She pulled him closer and had a watery smile from hearing her nickname. And after she had calmed down, she told him about the Breach and how she thought she saw her mother save her. That was the least she could do. Things would probably be shaky between them for a while but as long as they loved each other, they could make it through this.

* * *

 **A/N- As I promised, here is the second chapter! Not gonna make any promises but maybe I'll be able to upload the next one tomorrow. Here's hoping!**


	56. New Mission

A few weeks have passed since the disagreement between Yang and Jaune but things have finally gone back to normal. Both teams were extremely busy as of late. With classes, training and finding out that both teams would be participating in the Vytal Tournament, they had a lot to deal with. Luckily, today was one of those days where everything seemed to calm down for once. JNPR were sitting under their tree and were waiting for RWBY to show up.

Nora and Ren were sitting together while Nora was going on about how awesome the tournament was going to be. Ren and Pyrrha were just listening with smiles on their faces. Jaune would've been doing the same, if he wasn't sleeping and using Pyrrha's lap as a pillow. Jaune was originally sitting next to Pyrrha but eventually he fell asleep and was leaning against her shoulder. Pyrrha thought this would be more comfortable for him, so she carefully moved him to her lap and was now gently combing her fingers through his hair. All the girls found out his hair was incredibly soft without him using any kind of product. They were all kind of jealous of this, especially Yang.

"Hey guys!" they heard Ruby shout and looked to see RWBY coming to join them. The three awake members of JNPR were trying to signal them to be quiet. They were confused but complied. They found out why when they got close to see Jaune asleep. "Ah, he looks so peaceful." Ruby said in a whisper.

They all agreed, "So, did you offer or did he ask you to do this?" Yang asked with a teasing grin.

Pyrrha just shook her head, "Actually, he fell asleep leaning against my shoulder. I moved him to make him more comfortable." She looked down at him quietly snoring. "He's been having trouble sleeping lately." She said sadly.

"The nightmares, again?" Blake asked and Pyrrha nodded.

"Haven't you been sleeping with him?" Weiss asked. "I thought having someone close helped ease him."

"It does. But they're getting worse. I'm helping him relax but some keep surfacing. He accidentally woke me up three times this week. He looks so panicked and only calms when he looks at me. He just holds me close and I do the same until he calms down enough to relax." Pyrrha says sadly.

They all look at him with worry. "Has…he always had this issue?" Ruby asked hesitantly as she looked at Nora and Ren. She felt like she was going behind Jaune's back but she was worried.

Ren and Nora shared a look. Ren was the one to speak. "Yes. He would get them on occasions but with situations that effected his emotions heavily, they would occur more often. After the incident with Nora and the White Fang, he had nightmares for months. He didn't tell anyone but Mother Gin found out do to her heightened hearing. Apparently, he had this problem before even training with her but he refuses to talk about them. He doesn't want to bother others with his issues."

"That's how he knows how to help Blake and me with our nightmares." Nora spoke up as she looked down at her Big Brother and Fearless Leader. She had a look of sadness and pain, "He's suffered for so long that he knows how to help others. But not himself." She looked down sadly and Ren wrapped his arm around her shoulders to calm her.

They all looked at the two, "I wish we could help him." Ruby said quietly.

"You can't." They all jumped at the voice and looked down to see that Jaune was wide awake.

"Did we wake you?" Pyrrha asked.

Jaune just shook his head, "Nah, it was just a power nap." He sat up and popped his neck before speaking to them all. "My nightmares will either stop when I come to terms with the fear that started them or when enough time passes. The only reason they are effecting me more is because of all the added stress with the Tournament coming up. It'll blow over soon." He failed to mention that the ominous feeling was adding to his stress and was making his nightmares worse. But he didn't want to bring this up to them.

They all looked at each other before Ren decided to speak, "So, what is causing them now?"

Jaune looked down at his right hand before he formed a fist, "I'm not strong enough to not fail again. Not yet at least." He said with a voice full of determination.

They were all about to say something when they all got an alert on their scrolls. They were all being summoned to Ozpin's office along with Sun and Neptune. They all got up and made their way to the Headmaster's office. When they arrived they saw Ozpin behind his desk with Goodwitch standing beside him. "Thank you for coming so quickly." He said professionally.

"No problem, Professor. What do you need of us?" Jaune asked.

"I have a mission for your two teams. There has been an influx of Grimm in Mistral, Professor Lionheart has asked me to send some help for the mission. He also asked me to send you two gentlemen because your team will be one of the few he wishes to send out." He said this to Sun and Neptune.

The two seemed excited to see their team again and to kick Grimm ass. Blake spoke up though, "But why our teams, Professor?"

"Well, Miss Belladonna, your two teams are the best of the first years and have incredible teamwork with each other. Plus, all the members of JNPR have spent a large amount of time in Mistral and know much about the environment. That information is essential. And this next part is more of a personal reason." He said hesitantly. "There is one hot spot of Grimm that needs to be dealt with and it has significance to you three." He said this to Jaune, Ren and Nora. "The hotspot is Kuroyuri."

Jaune's eyes widened before he quickly turned to Ren and Nora. Both were shell-shocked, neither knowing what to say or think. Pyrrha was just looking at the two in concern and the rest of their friends weren't sure what was going on. Jaune walked over to them and put an arm around each of them. "Guys, what do you think? If you're not ready, we don't have to go."

Nora looked up to Jaune before looking over to Ren, "Ren?"

Ren looked over to Nora than to Jaune. The hesitance in his eyes hardened into determination. "Let's do it."

Nora's eyes widened before she took on a similar look. Jaune looked at both before he nodded. He looked over to Ozpin, "We'll take the mission, Professor."

Ozpin nodded before looking over to Ruby, "And what about your team, Miss Rose?"

Ruby looked to her team and got a unanimous agreement. She turned back to the Headmaster. "We will accept it as well."

Ozpin nodded, "Very well. Your bullhead will be leaving within the hour. Take this time to prepare yourselves accordingly."

They all nodded before they left to gather their supplies. Jaune stopped by the dorms first to grab his belt and gloves. He grabbed his black hoodie and zipped it up and was about to leave but stopped. "Better safe than sorry." He went to his desk drawer and opened it to reveal the case of aura shots. He took the case and attached it this belt, on the magnetic section between his fire and wind clips. He then left to go to the locker room. He put on all of his armor and filled all of his sword before attaching them to his back. He looked at the two katanas in his locker before he laid his hand on top of them and pulled out his necklace from under his shirt. He held it tightly in his hand. "I swear, I'll protect them." He tucked it back under his shirt before he closed the locker to leave to meet the others for the bullhead to arrive.

He arrived to see everyone there and talking like normal. Except, Ren and Nora were off to the side. They were both just sitting together quietly. Jaune saw them but decided to leave them for now. They needed some time to process everything. "Are they going to be alright?" Jaune jumped slightly to see Pyrrha and the others had moved closer to him.

He sighed before he turned back to them, "I'm not sure. I guess you guys have the right to know, now that you're involved in this. Kuroyuri was Ren's home and it was destroyed by Grimm." They were all shocked. "I won't go into detail, that's for them to decide when and if to do so. But Gin and I arrived shortly afterwards and we had to step in to save them. This will bring up some painful memories for them but hopefully some closure as well."

Not long after that, an Atlas bullhead landed and they started to board it. Weiss was excited, "I can't believe this. This the latest model from Atlas. They named it the Quicksilver. It's the fastest bullhead to date and we should be able to reach our destination in a few hours. Although, the armor and weaponry are at a minimal to compensate for the extra speed."

Everyone just stared at Weiss. She was speaking with Ruby level excitement. Jaune smirked at her, "I think Ruby is rubbing off on you, Snow Angel. Careful or you may become more adorable."

Weiss blushed along with Ruby before she slapped him on the shoulder and turned away in a huff, "Quiet, you dunce."

Jaune just wrapped her in a gentle hug and kissed the top of her head, "Sorry for teasing you, Weiss. Can you forgive me?"

She sighed before she had a small smile, "Your just lucky I love you, Jaune."

"I already know that." He said as he held her closer.

"Well, we should try to elect either Jaune or Ruby to be an acting leader for this mission. We don't want mixed messages in a fight or any confusion." Weiss stated.

Jaune nodded, "Good idea. So who should we…." He trailed off as he saw that everyone was looking at him. He sighed, "Alright. If you all insist. And we all agree Ruby is second-in-command?" Everyone nodded and they all tried to enjoy the rest of the trip along with trying to prepare for the mission ahead. Surprisingly, Jaune's motion sickness was practically nonexistent at this point so he could focus more on the trials ahead.

A few hours later, the two and a half teams were nearing their drop off points. The back of the bullhead opened and Sun and Neptune stood up, "Looks like this is our stop." Sun said cheerfully. He turned to Jaune and held out his fist, "Kick some ass, Badass." He said with a smile.

Jaune stood and smiled before bumping his fist with his. "You know it."

Sun took away his fist as the two walked towards the back of the bullhead. They jumped out and Sun spun around to face them "Later, losers!" he said before he disappeared from sight.

They rest of them had to wait another thirty minutes before they were directly over the ruins of Kuroyuri. Jaune stood up and got to the back first. "Let's move out!" He commanded as he jumped out into a nose dive to the street below. Halfway there, he flipped and grabbed a hold of his wind clips. His eyes shifted to light green for a second or two and his body lightened. He created a gust of wind to slow his descent and landed with little issue. He quickly scanned the area for any threats as he waited for the others. He grabbed a hold of his earth clips and as his Semblance activated, he stomped on the ground to make an impromptu radar. He sensed nothing around for about half a mile. He relaxed slightly and soon he was joined by the rest of his team along with RWBY. "Alright, I used my Semblance and I couldn't sense anything around us. Let's split up into our teams of two and just search around, just in case. We'll meet back here in twenty and let's keep in contact via our scrolls. Everyone good with that?"

Everyone nodded and they all split up with their partners. They searched everywhere and couldn't find anything. They made sure to call in every five minutes or so. After the full twenty minutes they all met back up in the center of the ruins, empty handed. "This makes no sense." Ruby spoke up. "There are no signs of any Grimm and they said that this was a hot spot."

"Yeah, I agree. Something isn't adding up." Jaune froze as he thought he felt a subtle vibration. He had his earth Semblance active this entire time as an extra precaution. He quickly knelt down and placed his hand on the ground to focus more. No one said a thing or even moved. Jaune could still feel the vibrations. They were in a pattern and were constant. And getting stronger. Something was coming, something big. He opened his eyes and stood as he drew Kakiri. "We have company." He turned to the direction as his eyes shifted to crimson.

The others drew their weapons and turned to the direction he was looking. Shortly after that, they could hear what sounded like hooves clopping against the ground. They were getting louder and Jaune could hear Ren muttering, "Not again. Not again." Not even a minute after that they could see a Grimm-like horse walking towards them. It stopped and breathed out a black mist and soon what looked like to be some sort of growth on its back started moving before it 'sat' up to show a horned, humanoid Grimm attached to the back of it. It stared them down and Jaune heard Ren say in despair, "No."

"What is that?" Pyrrha asked the question that they were all thinking.

Jaune clenched his hand tighter on the handle of his sword as he gritted his teeth slightly. "The Grimm that lead to all this destruction and countless lives being taken." Jaune said with a lot of hate, his hatred of Grimm was at a high because of what this thing did to Ren. It turned his attention onto Jaune after sensing his negative emotions. "The Nuckelavee."

Jaune took a deep breath and focused. "Nora, Yang." The two looked to him. "The three of us are gonna engage it directly. The rest of you act as support. Stay at a distance unless you find any openings to capitalize on then engage it directly. But make it brief, in and out." He heard several of the weapons shifting, most likely into the respective modes for their roles. Everything was quiet for a bit. Until Jaune, Nora and Yang charged as the Grimm did the same.

* * *

 **A/N- Cliffhanger! Sorry about this but I wanted the next chapter to focus solely on the fight. A lot is going to happen, A LOT. Anyways, the next chapter will be out as soon as my schedule will allow it. So please be patient and not hunt me down for this. I'd appreciate that, LOL.  
**


	57. Fulfillment

Jaune charged and intercepted the Nuckelavee before he originally anticipated. It was fast for its size. It rose to its hind legs before stomping down on top of him. Jaune brought Kakiri above his head and supported the blade with his left arm. The impact was enough to almost drive Jaune to his knees and a decent size crater formed below him. Jaune was struggling to hold it, even with his enhanced strength. He didn't have to hold long though. Yang came from his left with a right hook while Nora came from his right with a swing from Magnhild from her left. The humanoid half caught both before they could land the hits and slammed both of them down on either side of it. Before it could do anything further, Jaune ignited Kakiri before shooting a stream of fire from the broadside of the blade at the horse head and the humanoid. It screamed in pain before letting go of the girls and steeping off of Jaune. All three jumped back before it could collect itself.

As Jaune landed, he heard gunfire from both sides of him. Ruby and Blake were running to the left to regroup with Yang. Halfway to her, Ruby had Blake jump onto Crescent Rose before spinning and throwing Blake towards it with both her blades ready. Pyrrha and Ren were firing on his right as they ran to meet up with Nora. They pulled a maneuver close to what the others did, Pyrrha pulled out her shield and Ren kicked off of it with his aura to go flying towards the Grimm. The Nuckelavee countered by sending two fists at them with its elastic arms. Both were hit and flung backwards. At this, Yang and Nora fired a few shots as Weiss stood beside Jaune and fired a few icicles at it as well. It screamed in annoyances before running towards Jaune and Weiss to stop from being surrounded.

Jaune got an idea with that. "Weiss, let's freeze its legs. I got the back." He looked over to her and she nodded. He impaled Kakiri into the ground before charging forward. He grasped his wind and water clips and started to fusion. The Grimm was about to stomp on him but he managed to combat roll out of the way before getting back to his feet. As it's legs were stuck in the ground, Weiss stabbed Myrtenaster into the ground and sent a wave of ice, freezing it in place. Jaune by this point was behind it, he clapped his hands together to form the attack and fired off the blast of ice to the hind legs. With both sets of legs frozen, it was now a sitting duck.

Jaune quickly reached for his lightning and water clips and formed plasma in record time. He jumped directly behind it and was about to fire a beam at its back with both his hands cupped together. But the humanoid half spun a full one eighty before slamming its arm onto him and driving him into the ground. Jaune fired the beam but barely grazed its shoulder before it continued harmlessly into the sky. It pulled its arm back into the air, intent on slamming him further into the ground. Jaune was barely standing when he noticed all his color was gone and he was now grey. The Nuckelavee stopped and looked around confused. Jaune instantly turned to his left and saw Ren kneeling with his hand on the ground. "Jaune, get moving!" he shouted.

Jaune instantly drew Raikiri and shot off in a bolt of lightning towards Kakiri and Weiss. He just made it to his blade as Ruby shouted a command, "Fire Flower!" Ruby started to use her Semblance to run around the Grimm while firings shots into it. The bullets didn't penetrate its skin, similar to the other bullets so far. Meanwhile, Yang had jumped over the it and was firing her own ammo from above, catching the Grimm's back and the ground around it. Yang landed beside Ruby in front of the horse half and as soon as she did, Ruby disappeared in flurry of Rose petals above the Nuckelavee. Ruby fired a few shots to send her in a downward angle as she spun with her scythe and Yang fired Ember Celica into the ground to send her flying upwards with a devastating uppercut. This would've beheaded the horse but its strength combined with the Ember Celica's earlier salvo weakened the ice enough for it to break free. It quickly spun to dodge the blade and punch and before either sister could react, were promptly kicked by its hind legs.

Jaune grit his teeth with this but forced himself to calm down. "Nora!" He shouted to her and as she turned, he fired off some lightning towards her. She absorbed it with her Semblance. He sheathed Raikiri and pulled Kakiri from the ground. "Pyrrha, regroup with Weiss! Weiss, use a Time Dilation Glyph on her." Both nodded at that. Pyrrha made her way over to Weiss as she was preparing the Glyph.

Jaune charged forward with Nora for a pincer attack. The Grimm screamed loudly before sending its claws at both of them. Nora managed to bat it away with Magnhild but Jaune used his sword to make it barely glance him. He grabbed his earth clip to absorb enough energy for a single attack. Jaune stomped onto the ground a two-foot rock erupted form the ground in front of him, he finished the fusion and liquefied the rock before punching it to send it flying towards the Grimm. The molten rock hit the upper thigh of one of its back legs, it screamed as the rock burned its leg horribly and stopped it from moving. Nora capitalized by hitting its other leg with her hammer with her increased strength. With both its back legs damaged it fell into an awkward sitting position.

"Ren, Blake!" Jaune shouted. Blake jumped past him and used Gambol Shroud in its kusarigama form to keep some distance as Ren snuck up on it with his Semblance to deliver a fury of slashes with Stormflower.

"Jaune, everything is set!" he heard Pyrrha and turned to see her glowing from the effects of Weiss' Glyph and Weiss ready for her next command. He turned to see Ruby and Yang on their feet again.

"Weiss surround it with Glyphs! Ruby and Pyrrha, with me!" He drew Raikiri as well as he shifted Kakiri to his left hand. His aura became surrounded in electricity and fire. "Blake, Ren, move!" Ren and Blake jumped out of the melee but stayed close enough to reengage if necessary. The Nuckelavee was surrounded by numerous Glyph before the three speedsters charged at it. Each one was pushed from on Glyph to the other with their speed being pushed higher. The Nuckelavee was being slashed by what appeared to be a burst of lightning, a cloud of rose petals and a bronze and red blur on all sides. They were cutting into it but not deeply, the hide was just too tough. It screamed again before extending both its arms and spinning like a turbine. The three were knocked away along with Nora, Ren and Blake who were still in close proximity to it.

They were all slowly getting back to their feet as the humanoid half wrapped its arms around itself before the spines on its back grew along with the horns on its head, the mouth split open before it released an even louder scream. Blake dropped her weapons to cover her ears under her bow. The Grimm noticed and sent a clawed hand after her. Jaune meant to burst off to intercept but his body was going through Elemental Backlash and stumbled. "Blake!" he screamed in desperation.

Blake opened her eyes just in time to see the claw coming towards her but had no time to move or even use her Semblance. That's when an orange blur jumped in front of her and was thrown into a building. Nora fell in a heap and with her aura only a hit from shattering. The Grimm was now standing again, either it healed from its injuries or it was so enraged that it was ignoring the pain.

Ren screamed in fury before charging it. Forgotten was his usual grace in battle, replaced by a berserker charge. The Grimm just kept batting him away before his blades could reach it. But Ren wouldn't stay down, he was too far absorbed in his anger. "Ren, STOP!" Jaune shouted. Ren just ignored him until the Nuckelavee grabbed both of his arms and started to pull them in separate directions, intent on pulling them off. That was until it got hit in the back by a pink explosion and dropped him. Nora was now kneeling and breathing heavy.

Jaune felt his aura stabilize and figured out what to do. He turned to Ruby who was on his left. "Ruby, get your team and position yourselves on the buildings surrounding the Nuckelavee. Keep it in the town center and if it tries to leave, open fire on it." She nodded before she pulled her scroll out to relay the instructions to her team as she ran to get into position. He turned to Pyrrha, on his right and handed her a lightning clip after sheathing Raikiri. "Get to Nora and give her this. When you two are set, Valkos." She nodded before she went running towards the grenadier. Jaune had Kakiri in a reverse grip and got into a track runner stance before shooting off his aura and fire to go flying towards the Grimm.

It turned in time for Jaune to punch it with a left hook, clad in flames. It stumbled and as Jaune landed on the ground he swung upwards with Kakiri in the reverse grip that sent a wave of fire towards it, engulfing it. He turned to see Nora standing next to Pyrrha and electricity covering her. He nodded to them as the Grimm swiped the flames away. It was hit in the humanoid head by a shield and turned to the gladiator before a grenade hit its horse head. So enraged it charged at them. Ren finally stood and looked like he was going to give chase before Jaune tackled him to the ground.

Jaune pinned Ren down as he struggled to free himself, "Jaune, get off! They're going to get hurt if we don't-" He was cut off as Jaune raised his fist and brought it down right beside his head, leaving an indent the size of his fist. Ren stared wide eyed before turning back to Jaune.

"You need to calm yourself." He said sternly. "How many times have you told me to not let my anger consume me? Keep this up and you'll get yourself killed. Or Nora." Ren's eyes widened further in realization. Jaune saw he had calmed before he stood up and Ren sat up. "The night you told me about this place and about that Grimm, we made a promise, remember?" Ren looked down and remembered that day.

* * *

 _Ren was sitting on the porch of Master Gin's house and it was the middle of the night. Nora had taken to calling her Mother but Ren couldn't, not yet. He was taken from his thoughts as Jaune sat next to him. He turned to him, he owed him a lot. He helped protect him and Nora and was a true friend to them over the last several months. "Can't sleep?" Jaune asked._

 _Ren shook his head. "Heh. Same." They sat in silence for a bit. "Look, Ren, if you want to talk about something, I'm here. I won't pry but I know that trauma is best to talk about when you're ready to." Ren turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, I've had my own trauma. I don't tell many but since your my friend and sibling student, I think I can trust you." Jaune then went on to tell him of the day he risked his life for his sisters and had his aura unlocked. Ren was shocked by this. "That's why I want to be a Huntsman." He said this as he raised his hand and it was covered in his white aura. "To protect as many people as I can because that is who I am." He smiled and turned to him as he put his hand down. "What about you? Why do you want to be a Huntsman?"_

 _Ren turned from him to look at the door to the house. "I…. want to protect Nora….and to avenge my family." He then told Jaune of the day his village was destroyed by Grimm and how his family was killed. He pulled out his father's dagger and looked down at it. A tear ran down his cheek and fell onto the blade._

" _That's a big goal." Jaune said after a few minutes of silence. "Maybe impossible." Ren turned to Jaune as he stood up with his eyes closed. He opened them with a determination he saw only a few times before. He smiled at him with that look. "So, I'm going to help you." Ren went to speak but Jaune beat him to it. "As an Arc, I swear, that I will help you reach that goal. Not because you're my friend or my sibling student but because you are my brother." Ren's eyes widened at that. Jaune reached his hand down to him and smiled, "So, what do you say?"_

 _Ren looked at the hand in front of him and smiled as her took it and was pulled to his feet. "You have a deal, Brother, and I swear to stay by your side on your journey. I swear on the honor of the Ren family." Both smile at their new brother with that._

* * *

Ren looked back up to see Jaune offering him a hand with his smile in place, "So, what do you say, Brother?"

Ren smiled and took it as he was pulled to his feet. "What's the plan, Brother?"

Jaune let his hand go, "This is no time for kid gloves. I'm going to use _that_ Advance Element for our combo." Ren nodded. "I need time. Hold it off with the others." Ren picked up Stormflower and charged forward, his mind clear. Jaune took Kakiri into his right hand as he drew Suikiri with his left. He started to focus and weave the burning fire into the flooding water in his aura. But he had to go slower than normal to make sure he didn't ruin his body in the process.

Meanwhile, Nora and Pyrrha were fighting the Nuckelavee with their combination attack. Pyrrha fired several shots into the Nuckelavee as Nora flanked it with a hammer swing. Before it could regroup, Pyrrha charged in with a shield bash and a few slashes with Milo in its xiphos form. Nora fired a grenade as Pyrrha jumped back to stand in front of Nora. She turned Milo into its javelin form and was about to throw it when Nora hit the back of it with Magnhild at the same time. The force behind Pyrrha's throw plus Nora's swing and Milo's discharge, sent it flying as a blur. The pink smoke had cleared now but the Nuckelavee moved enough for Milo to get stuck in its front leg instead of the horse's chest. It screamed before it screamed louder as Pyrrha used her Polarity to pull the weapon free and back to her hand.

They saw Ren running towards them and he shouted a command, "Renora!" Nora's eyes widened before she got her usual smile. Nora fired a few grenades at the Grimm's feet to create a smokescreen. Ren used this to deliver a few slashes with his blades before he jumped back while unleashing a storm of bullets. He landed as his clips ran dry. Nora and Ren charged forward and the Nuckelavee shot both its fists forward. They managed to jump over them and hit the humanoid half in the chest, Ren with his aura palms and Nora with her hammer swing. The aura and explosion pushed it back.

Both landed and Nora was out of breath, her aura running low. Pyrrha stood beside Ren and they nodded before shouting the command, "Bronze Lotus!" The Grimm was currently being assaulted by both Yang's buckshot and Weiss' ice as the two ran forward. Ren threw both of his weapons forward, cutting into the Grimm. Pyrrha grabbed them with her Polarity and continued the assault. She brought them back to Ren as she took point with her javelin, using its discharge to stab it repeatedly in the horse's chest. It tried to stomp down on her but she just rolled backward as she threw Akouo, which missed the Grimm. But Ren was right in its path to send it back with an aura amplified kick. The shield was imbedded into the horse's other front leg. It was halfway through when Pyrrha pulled it completely through it with her Semblance.

It tried to retreat with that but it was soon assaulted by Blake's and Ruby's bullets. Jaune then charged in with his fusion nearly complete and wielding a longsword with its circuits and edges glowing an off white. "Martial Arcs!" He shouted and Pyrrha jumped back to stand besides Nora as Ren charged from the opposite side. When they were close enough, Jaune finished the fusion and shouted, "Vaporize, Futkiri!" An off white wave erupted from his body before the Grimm, Ren and himself were covered by a thick mist.

The others couldn't see anything but could hear the sounds of combat coming from inside. Pyrrha's scroll went off and she answered the conference call with RWBY, "What just happened?!" Ruby asked.

Pyrrha answered, "That's the Advance Element, vapor, it's a fusion of fire and water. Jaune uses it to create a thick mist that is nearly impossible to see through."

"How can those two see in there?" Blake asked.

"They can't." Nora replied with her grin.

"What?! Then why would they use it?!" Weiss asked.

"Because they don't need to see." Pyrrha answered. "The Grimm is blinded while Ren and Jaune don't need to rely on their sight. Jaune's aura is so infused with the mist that it's an extension of himself. He can 'feel' where Ren and the Grimm are. And Ren's aura sense allows him to know where Jaune is along with the Grimm. Due to it not having aura, it's like a big black spot on his senses."

"Wow. Sun was right, those two are indeed badasses." Yang said. The others nodded in agreement.

* * *

In the mist, the two Huntsmen were performing their combo almost perfectly. Ren would engage in a fury of slashes before Jaune would step in with a few stronger swings. The Nuckelavee couldn't counter because it couldn't see with either pair of eyes. After Jaune got his second set of slashes in, the two stepped besides each other and released their payload. Ren fired with his submachine guns and Jaune pointed Futkiri at the Grimm and released a pressurized steam blast. The Grimm took the hit and stopped moving. The two weren't sure what happened until it screamed and performed the same turbine spin from before. It knocked the two of them back and blew away the mist. The two were caught by their partners and were breathing raggedly. "You two okay?" Pyrrha asked.

Jaune turned to her with is now off white eyes, "Yeah, just exhausted." He turned to the Nuckelavee, it was still missing its front leg and had several slashes in its skin plus the burn from the molten rock on its hind leg and on its chest from the steam blast. "How is it still standing?" It screamed again before charging JNPR.

It was stopped when Weiss jumped in front of them and formed a Glyph in front of them as a shield. Blake appeared beside it before she left a fire dust enhanced Shadow that exploded. It screamed and stomped down on the Glyph, shattering it. Weiss was than smacked away by the humanoid half and her aura was shattered, she used a lot of aura on her Glyphs during the entire fight. Ruby, luckily, was able to catch her before she hit a building. Blake tried to catch it from its blind spot but it spun and battered her away as well. As she was flying, it punched her with its other arm and she was sent into a building before her aura shattered as well. It started to charge towards her and reared its arm back to finish her.

Jaune ran forward and pulled out an aura shot from its case. He was running on fumes at this point. He injected himself in the neck and felt a peculiar feeling. It felt similar to when someone would transfer their aura into him but it felt like his own aura being pumped into him. As his aura was now at half, he shot forward with his aura and intercepted the arm one handed. It was shocked along with Blake. He stared down the Grimm with pure fury, "Don't you dare touch my Kitten!" he shouted. He pulled the arm hard and the Grimm stumbled forward a few steps. It started to pull back against him when he got his footing back. As it did that, he jumped and the arm pulled him towards the rest of it. He let go and preformed a two-handed swing that left a deep cut into its side and cut off the hind leg he burned earlier. It screamed before he reared his fist back and punching it in its side, sending it flying ten feet away in a heap.

Yang landed besides him with her Semblance active and steam was coming off of Jaune's body profusely. They nodded and charged forward. As it was trying to stand on its two legs, the two blondes started to beat it with powerful punches and heavy swings. Jaune was about to bring down his sword to behead the horse but he felt his arms burning and tearing worse than anything before. He screamed in pain which distracted Yang. Both were swatted away by it. They both landed in heap with Yang's Semblance gone and her aura shattered as she hit the ground to form a crater. The two started to kneel when the still battle ready members of their teams ran to them.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha asked worried.

He grunted in pain and shook his head. "Vapor's Elemental Feedback just tore the muscles in my arms, badly." At that he dismissed his Semblance and his eyes shifted back to blue.

Yang and Ruby were confused until Ren elaborated, "Vapor increases his strength higher than fire does and the intense heat makes steam come off of his body. The heat and stress it puts on his body has a tendency to tear his muscles. Severely."

Jaune nodded, "I'm in bad shape. You four may have to finish it." He looked at it now standing on its two remaining legs. "This is almost over, it's on its last legs." Yang snorted at his unintentional pun.

The four nodded and charged towards the Grimm. Ruby shot forward in a storm of rose petals and tried to hack off its front leg but her blade couldn't fully cut through it. The Grimm grabbed her before slamming her into a building, her aura about to break. Pyrrha and Ren opened fire on it and it let her go before bringing both its arms down on them. They were luckily able to jump to the sides and out of the way. Although as Pyrrha landed, it swept its arm across the ground and grabbed her. It picked her up and beat her repeatedly into the ground before her aura broke. Nora flew in and caught the horse head with her hammer causing it to stumble and its legs to crumple under it. It brought it arm down on her and was now crushing her into the ground. She screamed as her aura broke. Ren quickly ran with his father's dagger and reinforced it with aura to cut through the arm completely. It screamed in pain and fury before it grabbed Ren. He picked him up and started to squeeze him, trying to crush him. Ren was screaming the entire time, helpless.

Jaune was just staring in horror and shaking. 'I failed. I failed again.' He thought to himself. He looked down. 'I'm pathetic. After everything I've done, why? Why can't I save them?' He soon felt the metal of his necklace against his chest and his eyes flew open. 'I swore to protect them!' He forced himself to stand as his Semblance absorbed fire, wind and earth from his clips. The fusion started and he felt the familiar pain but he pushed through it. 'I will protect them! I will not fail again! Come Hell or high water!' Using every ounce of will he had left to force the fusion to finish. As he did, he charged forward as a pale green light erupted from his body, destroying the ground around him. As his eyes shifted to the same green he raised his right hand, ignoring the intense pain he felt. He quickly tried to form the cube he had tried to do several times before. It formed and stabilized. He pulled his arm back and threw it. It caught the Grimm's arm and the cube expanded to surround the arm up to the wrist. The Grimm stopped squeezing and looked at it in confusion. Jaune's hand was glowing pale green and he squeezed his hand. The cube instantly started glowing before it vaporized the Grimm's arm. Ren was dropped and it screamed in pain.

It turned to face Jaune along with everyone else. Jaune's whole body was releasing the pale green aura. He was still running forward, while the Nuckelavee started to stand again and move towards him as fast as it could with only two legs. When he was close enough, Jaune slammed his fist into the ground. The pyramid formed around the Nuckelavee as it screamed. It rammed itself against the side but to no avail. Jaune stood up and walked towards it. He raised his right hand, which was glowing pale green again, before he laid it on the face of the pyramid. "It's time to end this. You have killed numerous people and must pay. The only partially good thing you did was give me my brother and sister. But that will not safe you."

He was about to activate it when his vision blurred and he started to fall. Someone caught him and supported his body. He turned to see it was Ren with determination in his eyes. He helped him stand and placed his own hand over Jaune's with it glowing with his pink aura as he sent his aura into him. Strangely, the pyramid's faces that were pale green soon had a pinkish glow to them as well. "Together." Is all he said and Jaune nodded. Ren turned to the Nuckelavee as it screamed again. "For my mother. For my father. For all those people that you've slain. For myself." He said with full conviction.

They both took a deep breath before shouting in unison, "Begone!" They activated their auras and the pyramid shined pale green and pink as the Nuckelavee screamed on last time. The light disappeared and nothing remained. The two were breathing raggedly after that. They turned to each other and smiled. Before they were tackled by Nora and Ruby. They hugged their respective girl before the other's joined them.

"You did it!" Ruby and Nora shouted as they just chuckled.

They were soon helped to stand up and Jaune just let his arms hang, too painful to raise them anymore. "Ruby, can you call for our pick up?"

She nodded before she took out her scroll. Weiss stepped in front of him, "Looks like you mastered it." She said with a small smile.

He answered with his own. "Just needed the right motivation." He looked up to the sky with the same smile. "Looks like I'm finally strong enough." Yang punched him in the shoulder and he screamed in pain.

"You've always been strong, Hero. You just needed to believe in yourself." She said with a smile.

He just shook his head, "Well, you know me. Not the brightest guy out there." He was then smacked in the back of the head by Blake. He turned to her, "Okay, enough with the hitting." He said annoyed.

"Stop looking down on yourself and I will." She said seriously and he just sighed.

Ruby came back to join them with Jaune's sword in her hands. She split it back into the original swords then her and Pyrrha returned them to their proper sheathes. That's when they all heard a loud noise. They turned to see a horde of Grimm running towards them. "You've got to be kidding me!" Nora shouted angrily.

"Either the Nuckelavee's screams were signaling them or this was its territory and with it gone, these Grimm are moving in." Ren said worried.

Jaune turned from the horde to his friends. They were all exhausted and only himself, Ruby and Ren had any aura. He turned back to the horde. "Get moving, all of you!"

"What? No! We're not leaving you!" Pyrrha shouted.

"This isn't up for debate!" Jaune shouted and they all flinched back from it. "I can hold them off for a bit and meet up with you all. Now, go! That's an order!" They all looked at each other before they started to run in the opposite direction.

Jaune raised his right hand and started to pull as much aura as he could. His aura became a pale green sphere in his hand, slightly bigger than a softball. 'Damn it, that's everything I have. Plus, my arms are shot from vapor and the rest of my body isn't much better from particle.' He looked over his shoulder to his retreating friends. "I need to protect them. Come on! I need more! I don't care what it costs!" He shouted and as he did, his body subconsciously started to absorb water and lightning from his dust clips. He felt a shift and looked down at his hand. The particle sphere shifted from pale green to black and it didn't feel like particle anymore. It was now something more powerful.

He looked back to the horde. "No time to question it!" He pulled his arm back and as his body screamed in protest from the pain, he threw it. His eyes shifted from pale green to a dark purple, one shade away from black, before they reverted to blue. The orb flew as fast as a bullet. It tore through several Grimm before it hit the ground and as it did, it expanded exponentially. It expanded to the size of the horde and the Grimm screamed as they were destroyed with anything else in its path. It soon condensed back down to nothing as soon as it was done.

Jaune was just in shock by what he just did but before he could even think of anything, his head had a jolt of pain go through it. He fell forward with no way of stopping himself. He was falling almost in slow motion as his vision slowly faded to black and as the voices screaming at him became muffled and silent. His body hit the ground, unmoving as the others reached him.


	58. Cost and Fate

The seven still standing fighters ran to Jaune as quickly as they could. Ruby reached him first followed by Pyrrha. The two managed to move him to his back. He had a peaceful expression on his face that calmed them slightly. The others stopped close by with Blake the furthest away from the group. "I don't know why you guys still act like this." Nora said with her hand on her hip. "Jaune does this all the time, you should be used to it." They all nodded slightly but that didn't ease them all the way, they were still worried. Even though Nora has said it was no big deal, she was still just as worried for her Fearless Leader.

They heard rapid breathing and they all turned to Blake as she was hyperventilating with a scared expression. Weiss and Yang were by her side in an instant. "Blake, what's wrong?" Yang asked concerned.

Blake didn't turn her head and her eyes never moved, she just kept staring at Jaune. "I can't hear it." She said with a shaky voice, just above a whisper. Before anyone could ask what she meant, she continued but louder. "I can't hear his heartbeat."

With that the whole world seemed to stop for them all. They all turned to Jaune at that. That's when Ruby and Pyrrha noticed in horror that Jaune wasn't breathing. Pyrrha quickly started to undo his chest plate and swords before throwing them to the side. She laid her head on his chest and listened. She couldn't hear anything. No breathing. No heartbeat. Nothing. "No." She said wide eyed before she sat up and quickly started performing CPR, she started counting and when she got to thirty, she'd give him mouth to mouth before going back to CPR. The whole time she had tears running down her face. Here was her partner and leader but most importantly, the love of her life. Dead. She couldn't lose him, not now. "Come on, Jaune. Come on." She was saying weakly. "Don't do this. Please!" She said desperately.

Ruby was sitting on the opposite side of her and was just staring at Jaune. Tears were welling up in her eyes the longer this went on. Jaune was the first person she ever loved. He quickly moved from being her first friend to best friend to boyfriend. He held all the qualities she admired in a Huntsman, to see him like this was heartbreaking. Soon Pyrrha stopped and looked at the face of her boyfriend. She gave a cry of anguish before she started bawling her eyes out. Nora was by her side in an instant and was holding her, trying to calm her but was crying just as hard. She had just lost her Big Brother and Fearless Leader. He was her family and like her original one, he was now gone.

"No!" Yang said with full conviction. She practically shoved Pyrrha and Nora out of the way before she started to resume the CPR but harder than what was safe. "Get up, Jaune! You can't leave us! I won't let you!" She was shouting frantically as tears were forming in the corners of her eyes. Jaune was the best guy she ever knew, period. She wasn't about to let him die. She wasn't going to lose someone she loved if she could help it. She was soon pulled off of him by the combine efforts of Pyrrha and Nora. "Let go of me! I can safe him!" She shouted angrily.

"Yang, stop. Keep this up and you'll crush his chest." Pyrrha said sternly while doing whatever she could to hold her back.

Yang just kept struggling until she felt someone smaller hug her. She looked down and saw Ruby staring up at her with tears running down her cheeks. "Yang, stop. Please." She said weakly.

Yang just stared at her. "Ruby." She said weakly before she started to finally bawl and hugged her back. The two sisters fell to their knees as the cried in each other's arms. Nora and Pyrrha joined them, no longer able to stay standing.

Weiss was standing close by and had brought her hand to her mouth as she was crying silently. She felt her whole world crumble around her. Jaune was the first person she truly loved and he was one of the only people to treat her as her and not an heiress. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Blake looking at her with her own tears. Jaune was the person who helped her trust and love again after Adam. And she never regretted it, but what was she supposed to do now? How do you move on, when the light was extinguished and you were plunged into darkness? The monochrome clad girls soon held each other and cried harder than ever.

Ren, the whole time, was just staring at Jaune. He hadn't moved and was still in shock. His brother was dead. After finally avenging his family, he had to suffer the pain of losing his brother? He could feel his anger and sorrow building with every second. He could do nothing to save his family and now he could nothing, again, to save his brother. 'What was the point in all of this!" He shouted in his head. As his anger peaked, his aura covered his body or what remained of it. He looked down at his hands and he got an idea. His eyes widened. "No. It's not over."

He knelt down beside his brother as all the girls turned to him. "Ren? What are you doing?" Nora asked weakly.

"Saving my brother." He said with a determination and conviction they always heard from Jaune. He unzipped Jaune's silver hoodie before he took his father's dagger and cut open his shirt. He channeled all of his aura into his hands until they were glowing pink. He placed his hands on top of Jaune's chest, right above the center for his aura. Ren closed his eyes and sent all of his aura into Jaune before he spread it throughout his entire body, similar to what he'd do for himself for the aura technique. Transferring aura was useless after the person died but if he could find what he was looking for. And he did. He could feel the remnants of Jaune's aura weakly clinging to his body. 'There's still a chance.' He thought. He quickly pulled his aura back to Jaune's center before he would send it back in a steady, rhythmic pattern. He was hoping to use his aura to revitalize Jaune's and to restart his system.

The entire time, the others were watching Jaune's body becoming surrounded in Ren's pink aura before it would return to his chest before doing it again. They could all see that it was similar to the aura technique that Ren and Jaune had taught to them. Or tried to in Yang's case. They had no idea on what he was trying to do but they were hoping it'd pay off.

Ren kept this up but he felt very little change. He didn't have enough aura left to revitalize Jaune. "Damn it." He said as his hands slowly turned to fist on his brother's chest. "Why can't I ever save my family." He said brokenly as tears finally started to run down his face.

He heard someone sit across from him; he looked up and opened his eyes. He saw Ruby siting there with her hands extended to him. "Take my aura." She said determined. His eyes widened. "We can't lose him and we won't. Take my aura and use it to save him."

Ren just looked into her eyes and saw just how serious she was. The sorrow that used to reside in them was replaced with a burning fire of conviction. He nodded, "Ruby, channel all of your aura into your hands." He told the reaper as he kept the pattern going, he couldn't stop. Not yet. Ruby did as she was told and looked to him. "Place them on top of my own." As soon as she did, Ren continued with his instructions, "Now transfer your aura into my hands and hopefully we can do this." Ruby nodded and stared to transfer her aura into Ren's hands. As she did that, his pink aura shifted to a darker shade. Ren kept his cycles going and now could feel the remnants of Jaune's aura growing stronger but they still seemed to be too weak.

"Come on, Jaune." Ren said. "For as long as we've known each other, you've always fought to overcome any obstacle in your way. This is just another one. So fight, Jaune. Fight." Tears started to flow from his eyes again. "I swore to you, on the honor of my family, that I'd be with you every step of your journey. I refuse to let it end now! So, fight!"

Everyone stared in awe at Ren. This was the most emotion they've ever seen him demonstrate. Ruby looked from Ren down to Jaune. She took a deep breath before speaking, "Jaune, I know you've gone through a lot of pain. You've kept pushing yourself forward. It's probably been exhausting and you probably want to rest now." She sniffled. "You've lost people you loved and I know how that feels. But, Jaune, you still have people here that love you and need you. Your family, CRDL, CFVY, Sun, Neptune, Nora, Ren, Pyrrha, Weiss, Blake, Yang and me. We all need you." She started to cry again with that. "So, please, come back to us." She leaned down and place a gently kiss onto his forehead. Her tears fell from her eyes and fell onto his cheek. One landed on his eyelid before it trailed down his cheek, as if he was crying. "We love you, Jaune. You're not alone."

* * *

Jaune awoke and stared up at the ceiling of the room he was in. He was confused. He couldn't remember much of what happened before this, just that he had to protect someone. He slowly looked around and realized he was in his room back at Gin's place. Or his place now. He saw his small bookshelf that doubled as his nightstand next to his bed. It was filled with a dozen or so of his favorite books. He looked across the room to see his desk, filled with papers and notebooks and other random items he threw there. In the corner right beside it was his guitar that Gin got him for one of his birthdays. His room was just how he left it but something wasn't quite right. The room just felt off to him. He sat up and looked out the window to his left. It was dark still but the sky showed that the sun would rise soon. He stood up from his bed.

He went to the door and opened it to see the hallway of the second floor of the house. He turned to his left and saw Ren's door right next his own. Across the hall was Nora's and a spare room for guests. Further down the hall lead to Gin's room and across from there was the bathroom. Jaune felt like he had no reason to go that way so he turned to his right and made his way to the stairs.

As he reached the bottom of them, he was in the living room, which took up most of the first floor. He saw the couch and the two armchairs in the middle of the room. Two end tables were sitting on either side of the couch while a coffee table was right in front of it. Across from that was the TV mounted on the wall and a small entertainment stand below it to hold movies and anything similar. Ten feet behind the couch was the front door that lead to the front porch. Beside it was the coat rack and a place to put your shoes when you arrived. Gin's house was a no shoe zone. Overall, the room was homey. Just like always.

He went through the living room to the hall besides the TV. He walked past the downstairs bathroom and the closet that contained blankets and other necessities. And the room that contained the washer and dryer next to it. The short hallway lead to the kitchen with the dining room attached to the side. He could smell the scent of fresh coffee and saw that there was a full pot on the counter. But for once, he didn't really feel like drinking it. He looked to the back door that lead to the back porch. The back porch overlooked the horizon and where the best place to watch the sunrise was.

He went to it and opened it. He froze as he saw who was sitting on the porch waiting for the sunrise. She was wearing her casual clothes: grey leggings, black shorts that stopped just above her knees, a thin grey long sleeve shirt under a black sleeveless shirt. Her long silver hair was tied back and her tail was slowly wagging as her ears perked up after hearing him. She turned around to face him with her usual warm smile and happy gold eyes. "Hello, Jaune. It's been a while."

Jaune was still frozen but he finally spoke just above a whisper, "Gin?" She nodded. "If I'm seeing you, does that mean I'm...?" he trailed off.

"Dead?" She asked and he nodded. She looked up and thought about it. "Not exactly." He looked confused. "Your body is on the brink of death and your soul is unsure of whether to try to save you or just move on. Your mind is residing her until its decided."

Jaune nodded, "And where is here?" He asked as he sat down next to her.

"Think of this as a space between Remnant and the other side. It just took on an appearance that was suitable for you." She said with a small smile.

"Does that mean you aren't real?" He asked.

"More or less. I'm kinda a combination of your memories and what was left of myself before moving on. That make sense?" She asked as she tilted her head.

Jaune sighed, "As much as anything else." He looked out over the horizon. "So, how long until everything is decided?"

She shrugged, "Depends on the person. Some are quicker than others."

They sat in silence for a while and slowly the memories of how he ended up here came to him. Except, he couldn't remember who he was defending. "So, how exactly did I die? I mean, I remember tapping into a new power but why'd that do it?"

She sighed, "The power you tapped into is the Ultimate Element, a fusion of the five basic elements. Void. It's called that because whatever comes in contact with it, is reverted to nothing." She turned to him and his eyes were wide in shock. "It's a power you weren't ready for and that's what killed you."

"How did me not being ready kill me? I've gone through similar situations before with just some injuries. What changed?" Jaune asked.

"Unlike any of your other elements, Void is an equal mix of the five elements and your aura. When you created it, you siphoned off the last of your aura for that last attack. Your body went into shock after the last of your aura left your body so suddenly. Pretty much killing you." She said sadly.

"Damn." Was all he could say. "Anything else I should know?"

She shook her head. "Nothing that I can say. You'll have to learn more about it on your own." She looked across the horizon sadly. "If you make it back, that is."

They were quiet for the longest time. The sun should've risen by now but it seemed time really didn't matter here. Jaune thought about an option and when he did, he wasn't sure if he should even consider it. "Do…Do I…. have a choice?" he asked hesitantly. She looked over to him with her eyebrow raised. "Can I choose… to not go back?"

Her eyes widened slightly at that. "Well…yes. You do. If you don't want to go back, you could just move on. And nothing on Remnant could stop you. Not even what _they_ do for you." She says.

When she said that, a memory started to stir in Jaune's mind but it doesn't come to the surface. He shook his head, "Why can't I remember who I was protecting?"

She shrugged, "Maybe you don't want to remember. Because if you did, your decision would be altered."

He looked out over the horizon again. He couldn't remember who they were but he felt like they were special to him. Then another thought came to him. "Did I save them? Did they make it out alive?" Gin just nodded at that. He sighed in relief, "Good."

"Are you sure about this, Jaune?" Gin asked him. "Do you really just want to just give up?"

Jaune just sighed. "I don't know." He said as he just looked off at the view. "I've been training to protect people, especially the ones I care so much for. But, I just don't seem to get strong enough. Maybe, it'd be better for me to just move on and the people I did care for can stay safe." He was quiet but he turned to see Gin just staring at him. She knew he wasn't telling her everything. He turned away before responding. "I've tried to put what happened to you and Amber behind me, but the pain is still there. Just dulled. Adding that I've had to kill again." He ran his hand through his hair. "It's becoming too much for me."

Gin gently rubbed his back, "I understand, Jaune. I can't tell you what to do but just make sure the decision you make, you won't regret." He nodded after a few seconds. Gin gave him a small smile and stood up. "It's time for me to go, Jaune. I could only be here for a short amount of time." She started to make her way to the door again.

"Gin?" She heard him and turned as she was wrapped in a hug. "I don't want to disappoint you." He said shakily.

She smiled and wrapped her arms around him, "You won't. I've only ever had pride for you. Always remember that, son."

Jaune nodded into her shoulder. "I will, Mother." They pulled apart and Gin stood on her toes to gently kissed him on the forehead. "I love you, Jaune." She smiled at him one last time before she opened the door and closed it silently behind her.

"I love you too, Mother." he said quietly. Jaune just turned back to the horizon. He wasn't sure on what to do now. Should he try to go back or should he just give up and move on? As he was thinking that, he could hear a whisper in the back of his mind. He shook his head and tried to clear it but it didn't help. It started to get louder until the voice echoed in his head. "We love you, Jaune. You're not alone."

His eyes widened as he heard Ruby's voice. Soon the memories he had of her flooded back to him. Soon the memories of Weiss, Blake, Yang, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren joined them. He shut his eyes tightly and shook before he punched the wall beside him. "What is wrong with me? I can't just leave them. I swore to be there for them and an Arc never goes back on his word." He made his decision in an instant. As he did, the sun finally broke the horizon and flooded everything with light. A light brighter than any he had seen before and filled him with a strange sensation. Soon the world disappeared around him and his consciousness along with it.


	59. The More Things Change

One week. That's how long it's been. One week since Teams RWBY and JNPR came back from Mistral. Changed. The light and happiness the two teams radiated was gone, replaced with sorrow and darkness. But that wasn't surprising considering what had happened. The two teams arrived back with no aura and Jaune Arc being brought in on a stretcher. A sight seen once before, but everyone could tell that this time, it was worse.

He was alive but barely. His breathing was shallow and his complexion was ashen. Both teams went to the infirmary to see what they could do. The doctors said that no matter how many aura transfusions they gave him; his body wouldn't accept them. The aura would eventually burn out and his aura level would be the same. All they could do was lay him down in one of the beds and hope.

RWBY and JNPR, or what was left of it, were forced back to their dorms to rest. They really didn't sleep that night. They were all scared for Jaune. The next morning, they all went back to the infirmary but little had changed. His aura was somewhat higher which gave them hope. But his complexion and breathing were the same as before. They all stayed with him for the entire day, none of them had anything they wanted to do rather than to stay by his side. They stayed until visiting hours were over. All the girls kissed him on the cheek and Ren just gave him a slight squeeze to his shoulder.

The next day, they had classes again. They decided to take turns being with him. Whoever had a free period would stay with him until class. Luckily, their schedules allowed at least one person to be with him at all times of the day. As the days went on, his aura kept getting higher, his complexion was clearing up and his breathing deepened to the point where he looked like he was resting peacefully. Halfway through the week, the internal damage done by Particle was healed along with the muscles that were torn by Vapor. They all hoped this would mean he'd wake up soon. He didn't.

It was now a week since the day he was brought in and he was still asleep. His aura was back to full but he was still unresponsive. They were all back to watching him again since it was the weekend. Even Zwei was there. Ruby had snuck him in under her cloak. They all just sat there in silence.

Ruby had Zwei in her lap and was petting him as she glanced at Jaune. Yang was sat next to her, she had her arm around her sister to comfort her. Her other hand was constantly playing with her hair which she previously pulled over her shoulder. Weiss was right next to Yang; she was gently holding his hand. It gave her some small comfort and was hoping he'd return the gentle pressure. He didn't though. Blake was at the end of the line, she had a book and was trying to read. Although, she barely got through a chapter in the last few hours. Her mind wasn't focused and was watching Jaune more often than not. Nora was at the end of the bed on the other side. She had her headphones on, she was hoping that her usual music could help her. When that failed she put her head on Ren's shoulder and was somewhere between being awake and asleep now. Ren had his arm around Nora, to help her feel comforted. He also was trying to meditate with him not doing anything else but as anyone would expect, it wasn't going well. He just couldn't clear his mind. Pyrrha was the last, she was by Jaune head and was gently running her hand through Jaune's hair, trying to comfort him and herself.

"Why hasn't he woken up yet?" Ruby asked and everyone turned to her, except Nora. "He should be alright now. His aura is back."

Ren shrugged with his other shoulder, to not disturb Nora. "Jaune was, for all intents and purposes, dead. We have no idea what that has done to him." Everyone was quiet at that. They all remembered that moment he came back. Shortly, after Ruby kissed his forehead, his whole body became engulfed in the dark pink aura the two were giving him. It shifted to white before it faded away, they all just stared at Jaune until they heard him take a deep breath. After that, his breathing was shallow. They were all happy and the Quicksilver arrived not long after that. They hoped he would've come to on the ship but he never happened.

"What if he never wakes up?" Ruby said weakly in a shaky voice.

"He will." Pyrrha said with no hesitation. "Jaune has always kept his word and he said he'd always be by our side. He will wake up."

"Good to see you haven't lost hope." They all jumped before turning to see Ozpin walking over to them all.

"Professor, what are you doing here?" Weiss asked.

"To check up on Mr. Arc and the rest of you." He looked at Zwei for a second with a raised eyebrow.

Ruby started to panic, "Oh, um, well…you see…"

"Its fine, Miss Rose. Doctor Oobleck told me about your little friend and I have no problem with him being here." They all relaxed a bit. "But, don't let the doctor or nurses see him. They wouldn't like to see a dog here." He had a small smile and they all returned it in some way. Even Nora, who was awoken when Ozpin made Ren jump.

"But, you have little to worry about. Mr. Arc here is a very strong young man. Both in character and soul, he'll return to you all in due time." Ozpin stated.

"Sir?" Ozpin turned to Blake. "Do you know why it took so long for Jaune's aura to return?"

Ozpin nodded, "Yes. I was just informed recently. You see, Mr. Arc had a new type of aura stimulant in his system. It restored some of his aura but because of that, his aura was slower to return. And with his injuries, the little aura he was recovering was hard pressed to heal it and straining itself the entire time. Plus, his aura was at such a low level, that I have only seen similar cases a few times before. All that together lead to his aura taking this long to return."

"So, you're saying Jaune will be awake soon?!" Nora asked excitedly.

Ozpin nodded, "Most likely. But he may be changed from how he was before."

They all just stared at him. "What do you mean by that, Professor?" Pyrrha asked afraid.

"As Mr. Ren has stated, Mr. Arc was dead and was revived. Very few have accomplished this but all have changed in some way. Physically, mentally or even emotionally." They all looked worried at this. "But I doubt any of those will apply to Mr. Arc."

They all looked confused so Ozpin elaborated. "Mr. Arc doesn't have any lasting injuries that will hinder him form this point on, so he won't change in a physical way. Some people can't deal with the mental stress of surviving something like this but Mr. Arc has shown that he has been willing to sacrifice his life many times before, so that'll likely not affect him. As for emotionally. Well, from what I've seen and heard from him, his character has never really changed and with you all there for him, he should be fine."

"So, how do you think he'll change then, Professor?" Ren asked.

"The only way left for him to. Spiritually."

"What does that mean?" Yang asked, confused.

"The closer one gets to death, the stronger their aura becomes. That happens because their aura is desperately trying to save them. With Mr. Arc coming back from death, his aura should've strengthen exponentially." They all turned to Jaune at that, all curious on how his aura would be after all of this. "Well, it seems like you'll all be fine. Also, when Mr. Arc awakens, tell him that all of you have the next week off. You all deserve it." He gave them a small smile before leaving them.

They all turned back to Jaune after that. All hoping that he'd be the same Jaune that they all knew and loved. "We won't let him change. We all agree?" Ruby asked.

They all turned to her and nodded at that. "With all of us supporting him, there's no way our Fearless Leader will change." Nora said happily.

"And if he does, we'll be sure to kick him back into shape." Yang said with a smirk.

"You know its rude to talk about someone behind their back." They all froze before they all looked back to Jaune he still had his eyes closed but Weiss gasped as his hand gently gripped her's. His eyes slowly opened and looked at everyone who was still in shock. "Although, I'm right here, so technically not behind my back." He said in a raspy voice as he grinned at them.

"Jaune!" They all shouted before the six girls jumped on top of him. They heard him grunt as they all held him close and were crying joyfully that he was awake. Ren meanwhile had his own tears but was looking down at his brother with a smile. After a bit, he spoke up. "Girls, why don't you get off of him before he passes out."

They all begrudgingly did so besides Ruby. She was pretty much laying on top of him with her face buried into his chest. Jaune looked down at her and gently held her. "Ruby, its fine. I'm here now." She looked up at him with a watery smile and misty eyes. She surged forward and kissed him. He returned it and soon she pulled away before peppering his face with kisses. He chuckled at this and when she was done, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder.

Jaune slowly sat up with that but she refused to move. He was about to say something but she cut him off. "I'm never letting go." She said stubbornly and he could imagine her having an adorable pout as well.

He sighed and nodded before he started coughing, making the other's concerned. Once the coughing fit had subsided, he spoke again in a raspy voice, "Anyone have any water?" As soon as he said that, Pyrrha went to the side table and was filling a glass of water from the pitcher that was there. She handed him the glass with a smile and he returned it before he drank the entire glass. He sighed and spoke a bit clearer, "Thank you, Pyr."

Before he knew it, his face was turned to the right and he was being kissed by Pyrrha. He returned it and as soon as it ended, his head was turned to the left and was met with Yang's lips. They pulled away and Blake took her spot. When that was done he looked to Weiss who looked conflicted. He smiled and motioned her over. She blushed but that didn't stop her from coming over for a kiss as well.

After that, he thought he was done. Until Zwei jumped up onto him and started to lick his face fiercely. Jaune tried to push him off to no avail. "Okay, okay. Enough, Zwei, I'm okay." He finally managed to grab hold of the Corgi before holding him at arm's reach. He sighed before wiping the drool off his face. They all laughed at this, besides Blake but she still smiled. Jaune placed him on his lap and Zwei just sat there as he pet his head. "How'd you manage to sneak him in here?"

"I have my ways." Ruby said with a smile.

He chuckled before he looked at all of them and sighed, "It was bad, wasn't it?"

They all flinched and looked at each other until Ren spoke up. "Jaune. You were dead for a few minutes there."

Jaune's eyes widened at that and he looked like a memory popped into his head but he shook his head to clear it before speaking. "Really?" They all nodded. "Damn."

"That's all you have to say? You died and had all of us worried sick!" Weiss chastised him.

Jaune looked at her for a few seconds before shrugging. "Well, what should I say? I'm alive now and I don't really remember much." He stated. Weiss looked like she was going to counter his argument but she stopped because she couldn't think of anything.

"Jaune, what was that new power you used!?" Nora asked. "It was awesome! You wiped out the entire herd of Grimm instantly!"

Jaune looked up in thought before shrugging. "I don't know. I barely remember doing it. But something tells me I shouldn't use it again. At least, not yet." They all nodded at that. Not knowing what would happen to him if he used it again. "How long was I out for?" he asked.

"About a week." Ren said offhandedly.

Jaune stared at him for a while. "Wow. New record." He stretched his arms a bit with that, or as much as he could with Ruby still holding him. But now, she was sitting sideways, leaning her head against his chest and her arms still around his neck. "That explains why my body feels so stiff and why I feel so rested." He said with a smile.

He was smacked on the back of the head again and he glared over to Blake before his eyes softened. She was fighting back tears. "This is serious, Jaune. You had us all scared. We thought…we thought…" she trailed off.

Jaune pulled her into a hug, "I'm sorry. But I'm back, you don't have to be afraid anymore, Kitten." She nodded and returned the hug. The hugged until they felt something struggling between them before pushing them apart. They looked to see Ruby trying to regain her breath.

"Oum, are you trying to kill me now?" She asked with a mild glare. But that disappeared when Jaune kissed her forehead.

"Sorry, Rosebud." He said as Blake was trying to not giggle at her leader. "So, did I miss anything?" he asked everyone.

Yang shrugged, "Not much. Same old from classes. We spent any and all free time here. Plus, Ozpin is giving us the next week off." She said with a smile.

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

She nodded, "Yup. He came by and told us to tell you when you woke up."

"He also said that your aura would most likely be stronger now. Since you had such a close call with death." Pyrrha added.

"Really?" He asked. He focused and his body was soon covered in his aura. They all could feel the warmth of it. Ruby more so, since she was sitting in his lap. It stopped soon afterwards. "Hmmm, it doesn't feel any stronger and my aura reserves are the same as usual. Wonder what changed?"

"We could take you down to the sparring rooms and see what's up." Nora stated with her evil grin but was soon being stared down by his girlfriends. "Uh, did I say something wrong?" she asked nervously.

"Nora." Weiss stated. "Jaune was unconscious for a week, we don't need him over doing it and winding up back here." The others nodded, even Yang which was a mild shock.

Jaune could see the worry in all of his girlfriends' eyes and he felt his heart grow heavy. 'I really scared them this time.' He thought to himself. "Well, since we have a week off, how about a date week?" Jaune said with a smile.

They all turned to him with that. "Date week?" Yang asked.

Jaune nodded. "For the next five days, each one of you gets to have me for the whole day to do whatever you want. How's that sound?"

They all agreed to that instantly. But they soon argued on who would get the first day. Jaune whistled to get their attention. "I have a way to settle this. Anyone have a pen and a few index cards?" Weiss handed him what he asked for. "Thank you, Snow Angel." He quickly numbered five of them before handing them to Nora. "Will my assistant shuffle these for me?" He said with a smirk. She laughed before doing what he asked. She handed them back before he held them out to the other girls. "Each of you draw one and you get the day you draw, deal?" They all nodded.

Since Ruby was sitting on his lap, she got first pick. She drew the top card before cheering. She showed it to everyone, "I got number one!" The others looked jealous as she hugged him closer.

Yang was the next to draw. She huffed, "Damn, I got five. Oh well, save the best for last and that means no one is after me. That gives me a few ideas." She said with a smirk that made Jaune nervous.

Weiss drew next before she sighed slightly, "I got three. That's not too bad." She said with a small smile.

Blake was the last to draw. "I got four. I have no complaints." She said with her own smile.

Pyrrha gasped. "That means…" she took the last card and cheered. "I got two! That's almost as good as being the first."

"So, you girls are okay with this?" he asked and they all nodded. He sighed, "Good. Why don't you all go get something to eat? I'll get the doctor to check me over and I'll meet you down there."

"That's alright, Jaune. We aren't that hungry." Weiss tried to say before seven stomachs growled at once. The girls looked embarrassed while Ren was back to being stoic.

Jaune started to laugh at that. "Your stomachs say otherwise." He laughed until his stomach growled louder than any of theirs did. They all smirked at him but he shrugged, "I've been out for a week, what do you expect?" They all laughed at that and they were back to normal.

They soon all said goodbye before heading to the cafeteria. He waved at them with a smile before the door close and his smile fell. He fell back onto the bed and looked up at the ceiling. He had just lied to them. He remembered everything. How he created Void, dying, seeing Gin on the other side and worst of all, the fact that he almost left them all behind. He didn't want to tell them of Void because they would just worry about him more. And with this ominous feeling in the air still, he had a feeling he'd need it. And as for the giving up part, he'd never allow himself to do that again. He was stronger than that and they all needed him. The person they loved and trusted. "I swear, I will make sure you stay proud of me, Mother. And I'll never give up like that ever again." With that he called the doctor to get his examination over with. He still hated hospitals, that wouldn't change.

After the examination, which luckily didn't last long, he made his way to his dorm to shower and change into some new clothes before joining his friends in the cafeteria. Most of the students were staring at him but he decided to ignore them. He got a massive amount of food before sitting down at their usual table. Eventually, CRDL and CFVY came over to see how he was. Team SSSN came over as well and Sun introduced him to his other teammates, Scarlet David and Sage Ayana. Jaune thought they seemed nice enough. After a while, they left him to enjoy himself with his honorary siblings and girlfriends. They had some time to make up for. But the other teams were glad to see RWBY and JNPR were whole and back to normal again. But who know how long that would last?


	60. Date Week- Lancaster

Jaune woke up the next morning well rested and ready for his day with Ruby. He smiled at that, he had a few dates with Yang and Blake but this would be his first date with the red reaper. He was about to get up but found that Pyrrha was holding him tightly, again. He looked down at her sleeping form and smiled. He gently kissed her before he slowly untangled himself from her. She whined slightly in her sleep before she started to reach out for Jaune. Jaune took his pillow and handed it to her. She took it and pulled it close before she sighed and stayed asleep. Jaune chuckled before he went to his closet to grab his clothes.

As he was doing so, he heard a light knock at his door. He raised an eyebrow curiously before he went over and opened it. There he found Ruby looking up at him with a huge smile. "Morning, Jaune."

Jaune smiled down at her, "Morning, Rosebud. You're up early."

She nodded, "Yup. I was so excited for today that I couldn't sleep anymore." She hugged Jaune tightly with that. He just hugged her back and smiled as she buried her face into his chest.

"Sorry if I stink. I haven't showered yet." He said sheepishly.

She shook her head and looked up at him, "I don't mind. You don't stink. You just smell like, well, you." She said with her usual smile.

Jaune chuckled, "Thank you, Ruby, but I'd still like to shower. Wanna wait in the room?" She nodded and the two went back into JNPR's room. Jaune grabbed his clothes and went into the bathroom. He showered and dressed quickly before finishing his morning routine. When he was done, he opened the bathroom door and what he saw made him raise an eyebrow. There was Ruby, wearing his gloves while holding a ruler and imitating Jaune's own sword style. He had to hold back a chuckle. She had no idea he was out of the bathroom, so with a smile, he snuck up behind her and hugged her from behind. She squeaked in surprise before she heard Jaune speak, "Enjoying yourself?"

She blushed, realizing she was caught, "A little bit." She said sheepishly.

Jaune chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Can't believe someone can be so adorable." He said honestly but with some hints of teasing added in. Ruby pouted and turned away. He rested his head on top of her's and held her a little closer. "I love you. You know that?"

She smiled with her blush still intact, "I had a feeling." She said happily as she leant back against him.

They stayed like that for a little bit before Jaune spoke up again. "Wanna grab a bite to eat?" She nodded and the two broke apart. Ruby took off Jaune's gloves and handed them back to him. He put them in his back pocket for the time being. Jaune knelt and gave Ruby a look. She instantly jumped on his back and hugged him tightly. With that, Jaune carried her to the cafeteria.

When they arrived, they found that very few people were there, due to the fact that it was just after seven. They quickly got their food and drinks, coffee for Jaune and hot chocolate for Ruby, before they sat down at their usual table. Jaune sat down and was expecting Ruby to sit next to him, but she decided that his lap would be more comfortable. He sighed at her antics with a smile before the two began to eat their breakfast. Halfway through their meal, Ruby asked with a blush if Jaune could feed her. Jaune agreed and started to feed his reaper. He was almost done and she only had a single strawberry left and that's when he got a devious idea. He brought the fork up to Ruby but before she could eat it, Jaune popped it into his own mouth. Ruby was dumbstruck by that. She soon pouted at him, "Jaune, that was my strawberry." She whined.

Jaune chuckled before he slid half the strawberry out from between his lips and held it there. He then mumbled to her, "Go ahead and take it." Ruby blushed after she figured out what he said and what he had in mind. She looked around sheepishly before she looked into his blue eyes. She gained a small smile before she raised her lips to his. She took the half of the strawberry into her mouth and connected her lips with his. She bit the strawberry but continued to kiss Jaune. The two enjoyed the feel of the other's lips with the added flavor of the strawberry's juice to make it all the sweeter. The two eventually pulled apart and silently ate the strawberry while smiling at the other.

"That was so cute!" They heard a voice and both turned to see Yang and the rest of their teams standing there.

The two of them blushed, "Uh, how long have you guys been there?" Jaune asked.

"Since you pulled that strawberry move, Hero." Yang said with a smirk. Jaune and Ruby's heads fell, knowing they'd be teased for it later. The two sat with their teams while finishing their drinks. A few of the students would look over at the pair before they would just go back to what they were doing beforehand. A usual sight for those two.

The two finished their drinks and Ruby dragged Jaune out of the cafeteria. He just followed her with a smile. Eventually, she brought him to the sparring rooms and all he did was raise an eyebrow, "What are we doing here, Rosebud?" he asked her.

Ruby smiled at him, "I kinda want to try out your swords. If you don't mind." She tried to give him her best puppy eyes but he just smiled and ruffled her hair.

"That still doesn't work, Rosebud, but sure. Let me grab them." He went to grab his swords from his locker before he came back. She was so excited that she was practically jumping up and down. He smiled more before leaning his swords off to the side. He put on his right glove before he drew Raikiri. His eyes shifted to yellow as he walked back over to her.

"Why are you using your Semblance?" She asked him.

"Just a precaution." He smiled and handled her his sword. She held the handle in her left hand and laid the flat of the blade on the palm of her right hand. He asked her to take a stance before he stood behind her and started to adjust her stance a bit. He leant his chest against her back and gently laid his hands over top of her own and started to guide her into a few basic swings. Ruby loved the feel of Jaune being so close to her and that he was trying to teach her how to use his swords. She saw them as the perfect mix of classic weaponry and modern ingenuity.

After about ten minutes of this, he pulled away from her. "Let's see if you got it." He took a few steps away and Ruby got back into her stance. "Overhead." He said and Ruby brought the blade over her head before swinging in a downwards arc. "Underhand." She twisted the blade before bringing it back up the way it came. "Backhand." Ruby pulled Raikiri over her right shoulder and swung to the left. "Forehand." Ruby swung Raikiri from her left shoulder this time. This continued for a while, with Jaune saying swings and Ruby performing them. Jaune soon started to clap, "Very good. We'll make swordswoman out of you yet." He smiled at her.

She returned it, "Thanks! So, how do I use the dust?" She asked excitedly.

"On the handle, right next to the cross guard is a small bump. That's the trigger. Squeeze it to activate the dust. Be sure to do it-" Before he could finish, Ruby squeezed the trigger and lightning shot off in a huge arc towards the door. Jaune quickly raised his hand and used his Semblance to pull it to him. It surged towards him and he caught it in his hand. He then spun and reangled it to fire it towards a target in the back of the room. He looked back to Ruby staring wide eyed at him, "Gently. Squeeze it gently."

She looked down sheepishly, "Sorry."

"No big deal. That's why I had my Semblance going." He gave her an encouraging smile. "It's pretty much a hair trigger. The more you squeeze it, the more dust is released. What you did is what I usually do when I need a ranged attack with Raikiri." He walked over to her and motioned to the target he hit. "Give it another try."

She turned towards the target and aimed the blade at it before she pulled the trigger again. Another arc of lightning was fired from the blade and almost hit the target dead center. "Cool." She said in awe.

Jaune shrugged. "Not really. It's average for weapons nowadays. But that's enough for me." He said with a grin. "Anyways, the longer you hold the trigger, the longer the dust will continue to release into the blade. Try barely squeezing it this time." She did what he suggested but instead of the blade shooting out the arc, the electricity was just running along the blade. "And that's what I do to amplify the blade."

Ruby was just amazed before she started to take a few swings with the sword. She seemed excited and Jaune just loved the look of utter joy she had. She stopped soon, slightly out of breath, "This is awesome." She said happily, "Have you ever thought of modifying it to make an electric chain?"

Jaune just shook his head, "Nope. Don't need to." He held out his hand and electricity started to run between his fingers. He whipped his hand to the side and the electricity flew off but the arc started to curve along with his hand. In essence, the lightning was now a whip. After performing a few lashes with the lightning, he dismissed it and looked to Ruby, out of breath, "I can do so with my Semblance. It just uses more aura to do so." He said with a grin.

She was just looking at him with an 'Oh' face. "So, cool." She said.

Jaune just scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "If you say so." He was soon tackled by Ruby and brought to the floor. He looked at her hugging him before she kissed him. He returned it. The kiss was a bit different but still amazing.

She soon broke the kiss and was pretty much straddling him now. "I do say so." She said with a smile. Eventually, she got off of him and Jaune gave her a rundown on how to use his other four swords. They both thoroughly enjoyed their time together. Ruby was starting to get a little hungry and Jaune offered to make her some more cookies. She promptly agreed. They returned his swords to his locker before making their way back to the dorms to go to the common room. He was carrying her again and she was just expressing how cool his swords were and adding on how they could be improved. He listened stoically, he'd tell her if the modification wouldn't be necessary or if he'd already tried it before and didn't particularly like it. Although, a few were ingenious and he said he'd look into it and he'd have her help him. Hearing that caused her to hug him tightly and almost strangle him. "So, since you used all of them, which is your favorite?" he asked curiously.

Ruby was quiet for a bit and was thinking deeply about it, "Honestly, I would say Raikiri. I could see myself using it." She said with a smile.

He looked over his shoulder with a smirk, "Careful or I might think you'll try and still it from me."

She giggled with that and they were now at the common room. Jaune put Ruby down and started to gather the supplies for the cookies. As he was mixing the batter, he looked to see Ruby sitting on the couch and eating from the huge bag of chocolate chips. He smiled, "Don't eat them all, Rosebud." She tried to reply but her mouth was filled with chocolate. She walked back over with the bag and Jaune added the necessary amount to the batter and then poured some in a bowl and put them to the side.

"What are those for?" She asked with her head tilted.

Jaune just turned to her with a small smile, "A surprise." He then placed the two-dozen cookies in the oven to bake. The two just sat on the couch and started to just talk. As they did they eventually ended up with them cuddling while laying down on the couch. Neither really remembering how they got like this but weren't complaining in the slightest. Ruby at one point, nodded off and she was just sleeping in Jaune's arms. Jaune just held her and could do nothing besides watch the little rose sleep peacefully. "So, beautiful." He said just above a whisper to not wake her.

Right after that, the timer went off. Ruby slowly woke up and looked at Jaune. "What was that?" She asked sleepily while yawning.

Jaune just smiled at how adorable she was. "The timer for the cookies." Her eyes went wide before she disappeared in a flurry of rose petals and was now standing by the oven. Jaune chuckled before he stood up and took the cookies out to cool. He put six of them on a plate for her a little later. "These should tide you over." He said.

She looked at them confused but still ate one. She hummed in satisfaction. "But what about the rest?" She asked with her mouth partially full.

He smiled. "Time for that surprise." He went to work melting the bowl of chocolate chips and set out plate with a wax paper on it. The whole time, Ruby was just watching him while eating her six cookies. She was curious on what her was doing. Once the chocolate was melted, Jaune started to take the remainder of the cookies and started to dip half of each cookie in it. He set them on the plate to have the chocolate cool and harden. When those were done, he still had some chocolate left. So, he went to the fridge and found a few strawberries to dip in the remainder of the chocolate. The entire time Ruby's mouth was watering. Jaune took one of the cookies that was done and handed it to her. "Tell me what you think."

Ruby bit into the cookie and just froze. She eventually just stared up at him. "Marry me."

Jaune chuckled, "A little early for that, Rosebud." He smiled before she started to devour the cookie. He picked up a chocolate strawberry and held it up to her. "Say, Ahhh." She did what she was told and bit off half of the strawberry. She squealed in utter joy as she chewed it. Jaune ate the other half as she was in her own world right now.

The two just hung out for a bit while she enjoyed her cookies. She had a dozen left and she grabbed a paper bag to put them in for later. Although, the strawberries were devoured right there and then by the two of them. It was getting late but they still had time left in their day. "I don't know what else to do." She said.

Jaune looked out the window and saw that the sun would set soon. "I got an idea." He smiled before he took Ruby by the hand and led her out of the dorms. He led her to the cliffs that they were launched from and found a tree to sit under. He leaned against it and patted the ground next to him. She sat there, holding his hand and soon they saw the sun start to sink below the horizon, making the Emerald Forest utterly beautiful. The two sat there, leaning against each other and watching it. Ruby gently pulled on his hand and Jaune looked down at her. "Can I ask you something?"

"Always." Is all he said.

She nodded, "I know you've…made-out…. with the others." She blushed when she said that. "I was just wondering, why haven't you tried with me yet?" She wasn't looking in his eyes from her embarrassment.

Jaune's eyes widened slightly but answered her, "Well, the others are a bit older than you first off." She pouted as he said that but he continued, "But mostly, it's because this is your first relationship and I don't wanna pressure or force you to do something you aren't ready or comfortable with yet. I thought you'd know when you were ready and would talk to me about it."

She just stared up at him, "You're saying that all I had to do was ask?" She asked in disbelief.

Jaune nodded, "Pretty much." He said with a small smile.

She looked down and huffed, slightly annoyed. She then looked up into his eyes nervously, "So, can we try?"

Jaune thought for a second, "If you think you're ready, Ruby. I'm happy where we are so no need to push yourself if you aren't ready yet."

She nodded and looked out over the horizon to at the sunset again. Jaune did the same and they sat in a comfortable silence. That was until Ruby moved and sat in Jaune's lap but this time, she was facing him and had her hands on his shoulders. "I'm ready, Jaune." She said with a shy smile.

Jaune just looked into her eyes, seeing she was serious and ready. He nodded, "Okay, Rosebud." He gently wrapped his arms around her back. The two leant towards the other and kissed. It started as a few light butterfly kisses. But soon they started to increase in length and heat. They soon stopped separating, the heat and passion increasing. Jaune gently let his tongue slid against her lips and could still taste the chocolate and strawberries from earlier. Ruby opened her mouth and Jaune let his tongue enter. It met her's and he slowly started to run his tongue along hers. He went slowly, wanting her to get used to it before progressing any further. She soon started to do the same and the two were slowly but steadily enjoying the kiss.

Soon, Ruby got the gist of what was going on and started to speed up a bit. Jaune matched her and she moaned slightly at this. She took her hands away from his shoulders and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer. The air was starting to run out for her, so she broke the kiss to breathe. She was looking at him with a half-lidded expression while breathing deeply. Jaune smiled and was about to speak when Ruby closed the distance, shocking him. Ruby shot her tongue into Jaune's mouth and started to ravage his tongue. This threw Jaune through a loop before he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer and started to return the kiss with much more passion. Ruby moaned more and the two kept up the make-out session. It seemed like Ruby was tiring, so Jaune caught her tongue between his lips and started to suck on her tongue. Ruby moaned loudly at this before Jaune let her tongue go.

The two just stared at each other, trying to regain their breath. They leant their foreheads against each other's and closed their eyes. "Was that what you thought it would be?' Jaune asked.

Ruby shook her head slightly, "No. It was much more amazing." They stayed like that, holding each other close with their foreheads connected. They soon realized that the sun had set and it was time to head back. They shared one more kiss before they stood and made their way back to the dorms.

They got to their dorm rooms and Ruby opened her's to reveal her teammates already in their pajamas and on their beds, relaxing. Yang looked over to them, "Did you two enjoy your day together?" She asked with a teasing smile.

Ruby nodded and Jaune just had a smile on his face. He leant down and kissed her. When they separated he spoke up, "I had a lot of fun, Ruby."

She nodded with a huge smile, "Me too, Jaune."

"Well, I'll see you all tomorrow." He waved to the other three members of RWBY and was about to leave when Ruby grabbed his hand. He turned and looked at her. "Yes, Rosebud?"

She was blushing slightly, "Could you stay with me for the night?" she asked. Jaune and WBY had a look of shock on their faces. "I kinda don't want our day to end yet. Please, Jaune?"

Jaune scratched the back of his head, "Uh, I don't really have a problem with it. What about the rest of you?" he asked the other three.

They all thought for a second. "I'm cool with it. As long as you two are just sleeping." Yang said.

"I'm okay with it but you have to do the same for my day." Blake said looking up from her book with a smile.

"I don't have a problem with you staying here but I agree with Yang and Blake." Weiss said with a slight pink in her cheeks.

Jaune nodded after that, "Alright. Let me change and tell my team." Ruby jumped up and cheered. He just smiled at that. He went to his dorm and saw his team all relaxing in their pajamas as well. He told them that Ruby wanted him to stay with her for the night and they had no problem. Although, Pyrrha was a little upset that she wouldn't be able to but she got to sleep with him all the time so she let it go. After Jaune changed into his tank top and shorts, he wished his team good night before going across the hall. He knocked and Ruby answered it, also in her pajamas. She took him by the hand and escorted him to her bunk. Jaune laid on his side next to the wall and Ruby did the same but faced him. He wrapped his arms around her and she smiled up at him. She gave him a light kiss. "I love you, Jaune."

"I love you too, Ruby." She than buried her face into his chest and sighed. Jaune gently ran his hand through her hair as she was drifting to sleep. When he heard her quietly snoring, he smiled and soon followed after her. He didn't realize that the other three were either listening to this or watching. They all had one thought, 'I can't wait for my night.'

* * *

 **A/N- Well, I wish this was up sooner but what can you do. I'd also like to thank all of you who have followed TES. Because of all of you, it finally broke 1K! Honestly, I'm still blown away by this. I was shocked when it broke into the triple digits. Now its in quadruple? Amazing. So, again, thank all of you and I hope you all keep enjoying it until the end.  
**

 **Also, I'd like to give azndrgn, good writer and friend, a shout out. He did the same for me in Jaune Ryu-Long, the Dragon Contractor, so I'm returning the favor. Honestly, a great story and I would recommend you giving it a shot if you haven't already.**

 **Catch you all in the next update!**


	61. Date Week- Arkos

Jaune woke up slightly confused the next morning. He realized he wasn't in his dorm and was wondering where he was until he looked across the room and saw Yang in her bed, sleeping. He remembered the day before and looked down to see Ruby cuddled up to him. He had his left arm underneath her and his right arm was just draped over her. She had her left hand gently laying on his waist while her right hand was pressed against his chest. She was also nibbling on his shirt quite adorably in her sleep. Jaune just smiled before he gently started to stroke her hair. In response, she gave a happy hum before she snuggled up to him more. He chuckled a bit with that. "Wouldn't be surprised if you were a cat Faunus in hiding, as well." he said just above a whisper.

"Enjoying yourself, Hero?" He heard a familiar voice and looked up to see Yang now awake. She was just looking at them with a happy expression on her face.

Jaune smiled at her. "A little. But can you blame me? She's adorable."

Yang nodded at that, "Gotta point there. How'd you sleep by the way?" she asked concerned.

"If you're asking if I had any nightmares, I didn't. Thanks for asking." He smiled at her in gratitude.

She smiled at him, "Good." She sat up and stretched, mostly to put a show on for Jaune to show off her assets. "I'm going to take a shower." She jumped off her bed and gathered her clothes before heading to the bathroom. "Also, I wouldn't keep Pyrrha waiting. She may be going through a Jaune withdrawal." She said jokingly before closing the door behind her.

Jaune sighed before looking down at the sleeping Ruby one last time. He leant down and gently kissed her on the forehead. She stirred a bit before slowly opening her eyes and looking at him smiling at her. "Morning, Rosebud."

She smiled at him in return, "Morning, Jaune." She said before yawning. "Thank you for staying with me."

"Not a problem but, I kinda gotta go. It's Pyrrha's day after all."

She pouted before nodding in acceptance. She gained a thoughtful expression before she blushed slightly. "Jaune?" she asked and Jaune just looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Could you do one last thing for me first?"

"I don't see why not. What is it?" he asked her.

She just craned her neck a bit more to show off the left side of her neck to him. "Could you give me a love bite? I want something to remember our day together." She looked at him seriously. Jaune's eyes widened slightly before looking over to the bathroom. Hearing the shower going, he calmed a bit before looking back to her. She was giving him an almost pleading look. He gulped slightly and nodded before leaning down and gently kissing her neck. She shivered slightly at the contact. Jaune gently reapplied the kiss a few times before he started to gently lick the spot in a clockwise motion. Ruby giggled before she started to breath heavier. Jaune gently started to suck on her neck and she started to moan before covering her mouth to try to muffle it. Jaune kept this up for a minute or so before he gently bit down. Ruby's eyes shot open and let out a louder moan into her hand.

Jaune let go before he kissed the spot one last time before pulling away. Ruby was still breathing heavy but now had a very noticeable mark on the left side of her neck. "There you go, Rosebud."

Her fingers went to the spot and gently started to rub the damp area where he marked her. She then grabbed his shirt and kissed him fully. Jaune was shocked but returned it all the same. The two pulled apart and Ruby just looked at him lovingly. "Thank you, Jaune."

He smiled at her before giving her one last chaste kiss before removing himself from her bed. He made his way to the door. He opened it before he turned around to give her a wave and a smile. He closed the door behind him and made his way over to his dorm. He opened the door to find his team still sleeping. Pyrrha was curled up with her pillow to her chest. Jaune smiled before he grabbed his clothes for the day before taking his own shower.

When he got out, he thought it was about time to wake up Pyrrha before she missed her whole day. He sat down on the edge of her bed before he gently shook her. "Pyrrha, time to get up." She just groaned before she pulled the pillow closer to her chest. "Come on, Pyr."

She just shook her head slightly, "Jaune. Sleep, please." She said sleepily.

Jaune sighed before he got a devious smirk. "Okay, Pyr, you can sleep." She sighed in content as he got off her bed. "I'll just see if Weiss wants her day now and you can go later."

He wasn't even halfway to the door before he was tackled from behind and forced to the floor. He looked over his shoulder to see Pyrrha on top of him. "I'm awake. I'm awake." She said frantically.

He gave her a small smile. "Thought that would do it. Now, would you mind getting off me?"

She blushed slightly before doing so and sitting on the floor next to him. Jaune sat up and looked at her before blushing and turning away. "Jaune? What's wrong?" She asked.

Jaune cleared his throat slightly, "You're a bit….um, exposed, Pyr." He said nervously. She tilted her head before looking down. Her oversized t-shirt had shifted when she jumped and was now barely hanging onto her shoulders. This lead to more of her chest being exposed and the edge of her areola was in view. She blushed profusely before she covered up with a squeal. Jaune just scratched the back of his head nervously, as he spoke without turning to her. "If you want me to forget that, I will."

Pyrrha thought for a bit before she fixed her shirt and hugged him. "Its fine, Jaune." She said with a mild blush and a small smile. "If anyone was to see, I'm glad it was you." Jaune smiled before he hugged her back. They just stayed like that for a bit, enjoying the warm embrace, before they stood up and she went to take her shower. Eventually, she came back out in her casual clothes; tight black jeans, a long sleeved red shirt with a bronze t-shirt over top of it. "How do I look?' She asked.

Jaune just smiled at her, "Gorgeous." She blushed slightly and he kissed her cheek. "So, what do you wanna do today?"

She looked down slightly, "I wanted to go down to Vale for the day, but I don't want to be surrounded by my fans." She said sadly.

"Hmmm." Jaune thought for a bit before snapping his fingers, "I got it. Let your hair down and leave your headpiece here." She was confused but listened to Jaune. As she was putting her headpiece on her desk, Jaune had walked over to Nora's bed and gently pushed her off it.

Nora shot up to her feet almost instantly, looking around for the culprit. Her eyes narrowed on Jaune staring at her with a smirk. "Why'd you wake me up, Jaune?" she whined.

Jaune smiled at her, "Sorry, Nora, but we have dilemma. Pyrrha wants to head down to Vale but doesn't want to be spotted. I need that hoodie I gave you a while back and could you braid her hair? Please?"

Nora looked at him and sighed before her smile came back, "Sure. But you owe me some of your _special_ pancakes later. Promise?" She held out her pinky to him.

Jaune smiled before wrapping his pinky around her's, "Promise." Nora nodded and went over to Pyrrha's bed. She patted the end of it and as Pyrrha sat down, she started to braid her hair into a French braid. Jaune went over to look through Nora's dresser for the hoodie. He eventually found a black hoodie similar to his first one but a bit smaller, of course. He walked over to the girls as Nora was finishing up the braid. He handed it to Pyrrha and she put it on. It was a bit small but not terribly so. "There. With that, people will hopefully not recognize you and worst case, you can just pull up the hood." He smiled at her.

Pyrrha smiled back to him, "Thank you, Jaune. And you too, Nora."

Nora just pulled Pyrrha into a hug before the two of them left their dorm, seeing Nora stalk over to the sleeping Ren with an evil grin. As they did, they heard a scream from RWBY's dorm. "Ruby, where did you get that mark on your neck!?" Jaune instantly grabbed Pyrrha by the hand before running out of the dorms. They soon found themselves on a bullhead down to Vale.

"So, what do you wanna do in Vale, Pyr." Jaune asked her.

"Honestly, because of my fame and training, I never really had a real date. So, I want to do everything I missed out on." She said sadly.

Jaune just took her hand, "I'll be sure to make it perfect for you." Pyrrha responded by giving him a chaste kiss. The two were soon walking off the bullhead, still hand in hand. They walked away from the airfield and into the city. "So, what do you wanna do first?" Jaune asked. Before she could respond, they heard her stomach growl. She blushed and Jaune just had a small smile. "Breakfast?" She nodded and the two just walked to a nearby café. They sat down at a table in the back of the building and had coffee with their breakfast. They both decided on a bagel with a small fruit parfait. Their time was filled with them telling stories about their childhood and both thoroughly enjoyed the time together.

They paid for their breakfast before the two of them made their way to a local arcade. The two spent the next several hours playing as many games as possible. Jaune rocked at the fighting games to Pyrrha's dismay but she got her own wins at all the first-person shooters. They were pretty even at any of the old school games in the arcade which made them get competitive. They got really into their competition when they played air hockey. It looked like a fierce battle between two equally skilled warriors, that was until Jaune almost got hit in the teeth with the puck. Luckily, he ducked with Pyrrha giving one of her classic apologies.

They decided to stop there and soon they went to the last game they hadn't played yet: Dance, Dance Revolution. They played a few games and enjoyed themselves, until the person with the high score challenged Jaune to a friendly match. Jaune agreed and soon the two were dancing to the hardest song on the machine with practically every person in the arcade watching them. The cheering was loud and the two were just further pumped by it. It ended as a tie and the two shared a handshake and a bro hug before Jaune needed a breather. Pyrrha got him a bottle of water, which he thanked her profusely for. Afterwards, they decided to cash all their tickets in and Jaune used them to win Pyrrha a stuffed animal of a red fox. She hugged it tightly before kissing Jaune.

The two left and saw it was now around the time for a late lunch. They agreed to go to a decent restaurant to grab lunch. They found a nice little diner not long after. Pyrrha got a chicken sandwich with a small salad and Jaune got a burger with fries. Both decided to split the biggest milkshake the diner had to offer. Both were glad that no one had noticed who Pyrrha was but that was out the window when a group of fangirls came in. They saw Pyrrha and instantly ran over to her. Soon, more people were running over and it was practically a crowd around them. Pyrrha was too kindhearted to tell them to leave her alone; luckily, Jaune wasn't. He placed enough Lien on the table for their meals and a generous tip. He stood up and took hold of the wind dust crystal in his pocket. His eyes shifted to light green before he pushed them back with a gust of wind. He then grabbed Pyrrha in a bridal carry and ran out the door. As they exited, he used his aura and wind control to fly them to the top of a neighboring building to get away from the crowd. That caused Pyrrha to hold him all the tighter, but she didn't complain. She loved being held in Jaune's arms, it always made her feel secure and loved.

They made their way away from the crowd with little issue. Pyrrha than lead him to a movie theater. She wanted to see a movie for a longest time now. She bought the tickets since he paid for lunch and he bought the popcorn. The two sat in an almost empty theater and started to watch the movie while snacking on the popcorn. Jaune didn't enjoy the movie, he didn't really get the premise. 'Who would want to choose between a vampire and a werewolf that are clearly obsessed with them?' He asked himself this. Pyrrha was really into the movie, so he decided to not voice his opinion. Halfway through it, she held his hand and leaned her head against his shoulder. He just kissed the top of her head in response.

When the movie ended, they left and noticed it was close to sunset. They made their way to the park in the heart of the city and decided to go for a stroll through it. They saw an ice cream vendor and they got two cones to snack on. Pyrrha got chocolate and Jaune had vanilla. The old man running it, who looked a lot like the man who ran the noodle stand he went to a while back, refused their money. Saying that the happiness the young couple had was enough of a payment. They blushed and thanked him. They ate their cones as they walked around the park. They saw families enjoying their time together and having fun in the last hour or so of daylight. That made Jaune think, "Do you want a family, Pyrrha?"

Pyrhha was stunned by the sudden question and thought about it. "Yes, I would. I would love a husband and maybe a child or two to raise. And all the love that came with that." She held his hand a little tighter with that.

He turned to her with a smile, "You'd be a great wife and mother, Pyr."

She smiled and leaned against him more. "And you'd be the perfect husband and father."

The two were quiet as they continued their walk. They found a bench and decided to sit down and finish their frozen treats. When that was done, Pyrrha leaned her head against him and Jaune wrapped his arm around her shoulders to pull her closer to him. After a bit he spoke up, "So, was the day perfect, Pyrrha?"

She was quiet for a while. "Almost, just one last thing." He turned to her to ask her what that would be. As he did she kissed him passionately. Jaune returned it with just as much passion. Pyrrha wrapped her hands around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist. The kiss soon became a make-out session and they were both fully content to show just how much they loved the other.

Jaune broke the kiss but before she could complain, he quickly attacked her neck. Pyrrha started to moan and began to run her hands through his hair as she pulled closer to him. He soon left this mark before he trailed down and started to leave a second mark on her collar bone after pulling the top of her shirt to the side. Pyrrha was moaning more, she was now practically in his lap and slowly grinding against him. Jaune pulled away after leaving his second mark and would've gone for another, his eyes lingering on her slightly exposed cleavage, but remembered they were in public.

Even if the park was pretty much deserted now, he didn't want them to get caught and rumors to spread around about Pyrrha. He went back to her lips and gave her a loving kiss and she moaned into it approvingly. They pulled apart and Pyrrha leant her head against his shoulder again. She was breathing heavily but still spoke, "Now, the day was perfect." Jaune chuckled with that and the two just sat there for a while longer until it was time for the two of them to head back to the airfield for their bullhead back to Beacon.

* * *

The two were walking together back to their dorms as night was starting to cover the sky. As they were in front of their dorm, RWBY's door was flung open and he was grabbed by his collar by a very angry Yang. "You have a lot to explain for, Jaune." She said angrily but not yelling.

Jaune sighed, "Is this because of the love bite I gave Ruby?" he asked.

"No, that I was shocked about but I got over that. What has me upset is that me and Ruby were trying to ask you something all day and you never answered your scroll. Not even a message to say you were busy. What gives?"

Jaune raised an eyebrow at her, "What are you talking about? My scroll never went off." He reached for it in his pocket but couldn't find it. He felt his other pockets but didn't feel it. "Uh, I might've lost my scroll."

As he said that, JNPR's door opened and out stepped Ren. He looked at the scene before speaking, "Actually, Jaune, you left it on your desk. And yes, it has been going off all day." He said calmly.

Jaune looked at Ren then back to Yang. "That explains it." He said with a sheepish smile.

Yang let go of her boyfriend and facepalmed. "You can be such an idiot."

"Excuse me? Who has the higher grades between the two of us?" He smirked at her.

"Jerk!" Was all she said to him as she punched him on the shoulder before storming off back into her dorm.

Jaune rubbed his shoulder to try to ease the pain. "Love you too!" He said through the door with a smile. The JPR of JNPR went into their dorms to get changed before bed. Nora arrived a bit later after she had a spar with Ruby. She soon changed as well before they all went to bed. Pyrrha left her stuffed animal on her bed as she crawled into Jaune's bed with him. She laid her head on the right side of his chest as he wrapped his right arm around her.

"Thank you for today, Jaune. I couldn't ask for a better day." she said sincerely.

Jaune just smiled and gently rubbed her back, "You don't have to thank me, Pyr. I'd do anything to make you happy and loved."

She looked up at him with the radiant smile he loved to see from her. "You holding me already does that." They shared one last kiss before both went to fall asleep. But just as Jaune was about to nod off, he saw his scroll go off with a message from Yang.

Yang: I'm sorry for yelling at you. I was kinda worried, even though everyone told me not too. I just wanted to say that I love you and good night. Also, you're gonna get it during our day for that grades jab.

Jaune sighed with a smile before telling her, he forgave her and loved her too. He then fell asleep and was wondering what Weiss would have in store for him tomorrow.


	62. Date Week- White Knight

Jaune woke up the next morning with Pyrrha still cuddling up to him. He would've stayed there and let her rest but he was supposed to spend the day with Weiss and being late was not an option with her. He carefully untangled himself from Pyrrha without disturbing her, he was practically a pro at it now. As she was reaching out for him, he handed her the stuffed fox he got her. She pulled it close and sighed in happiness. Jaune just smiled at her before heading to the shower.

When he was done, he left his dorm to go to RWBY's. As he did, Yang and Ruby were just closing their door. He smiled at them, "Morning Rosebud, Sun Fire."

They returned his smile, "Morning, Jaune." Ruby said happily before she gave him a brief hug. "Did you have a nice day with Pyrrha?" She asked as she stepped away from him.

He nodded, "Yes I did. She did as well, although that movie we went to wasn't my favorite."

Yang just chuckled, "Told you it was bad."

"And you were right. But, it made her happy so, I'll consider it a win." He grinned. "Anyway, do you know if Weiss is ready?"

Ruby nodded, "Yup. She's super excited for her day with you. She was up way early just to get ready." Ruby said with her usual cheer and smile.

Yang gained one of her trademark smirks before she added, "She's waiting for you now. But, I suggest opening the door quietly. You'll love to see what she's doing."

Before he could ask, the two sisters kissed him on the cheek before they were off down the hall. Jaune sighed and started to open the door as quietly and slowly as he could. When the door was opened enough, he could see Weiss was knelt down on the floor, giving Zwei a belly rub. She was also speaking in baby talk, "Who's a good boy, Zwei? Who's a good boy?" Zwei just barked happily at the affection he was receiving. He then saw Jaune and barked at him happily. Weiss just turned to where he was looking and froze when she saw her boyfriend.

Jaune just smiled at her, "Well, that's just adorable."

Weiss blushed and stood up quickly. "I don't know what you're talking about." She tried to play it off.

Jaune just kept smiling at her, "Your blush says otherwise." He felt something scratching at his leg and looked down to see Zwei wanting attention. Jaune knelt and started to pet his head. "And I think Zwei agrees with me." He looked back up to see Weiss was pouting. He walked over to her and held her close. "Don't be like that, Snow Angel. I love seeing that part of you. Makes me feel special to be able to see it." He then kissed her on the top of her head.

She huffed at that, "I think you enjoy embarrassing me."

Jaune chuckled slightly, "Maybe. But you still love me."

She turned to him after a second or so and gave him her usual gentle kiss. He returned it and she smiled at him, "I don't think I could ever do anything besides love you."

He had a big smile with that, "I could say the same thing about you, Weiss." He kissed her gently one more time before pulling away. "So, do you wanna get your day started or are we going to do this for the entire day?"

"As much as I enjoy this, I do have a few things planned for us." She said in her professional tone. "But first, let's get some breakfast." She said this as her stomach growled lightly. She blushed slightly with that.

Jaune grinned before he took her hand and guided her to the cafeteria. Both thoroughly enjoying the warmth and feeling of the other's hand. They let go when they reached the cafeteria and sat down at their usual table with the rest of their teams. They all enjoyed their meals and talked like normal. Except, Jaune was sitting next to Weiss and he was holding her right hand in his left under the table. She was still nervous about PDAs but she decided that she was okay with it this one time.

When they were done, Weiss escorted him to the library. They found a table and she started to get her school supplies out of her bag. "Uh, Weiss, what are we doing here?" he asked her.

"Studying. You've been slacking and I'm going to make sure your grades stay where they are." She said sternly before laying their history text book in front of him. It was still his weakest subject. Jaune groaned but decided to just let her have her way.

They were both studying for a few hours or so, until Jaune got bored. He looked around and noticed that no one was around this particular part of the library. He smirked and glanced over to Weiss, she was focused completely on her work. He then went back to looking at his book but wasn't reading. He slowly started to slide his chair over towards Weiss'. When they were practically touching, Jaune stretched his arms over his head before putting his right arm on the back of her chair. He waited a few seconds to see if she had noticed and he was happy to find that she didn't. He then smirked before he put his arm over her shoulders.

Weiss came back to reality with that. She started to turn towards him, "Jaune, what are you do-" She was stopped when Jaune kissed her fully. Her eyes went wide and a part of her was saying to push him away because they were in public. But she ignored that part of her when she felt how good it was. She closed her eyes and kissed him back. They broke the kiss but they soon came back together. They repeated this kiss over and over. Neither one could get enough of the other's lips and the whole world just fell away. Only the two of them existed at this point.

Jaune decided to take a risk and gently slid his tongue across her lips. She gasped slightly with that. Jaune thought he may have pushed his luck before he felt her open up to him. Her tongue hesitantly met his and he slowly started to run his tongue against her's. Soon Weiss got over her shock and started to moan slightly at the kiss and to work her own tongue against Jaune's. As the two got more into the French kiss, Weiss wrapped her arms around Jaune's neck and Jaune lowered his arm to be around her waist. He placed his other hand there and lifted her off her chair before placing her on his lap, sitting sideways. They broke apart to breathe before they went right back to the kiss. Weiss was constantly moaning into his mouth, muffling it. Jaune eventually took her tongue into his mouth and started to suck on it. Her eyes opened and she moaned louder with that. He finally let go of her tongue and the two were breathing heavy. They just looked at each other with half lidded expressions before Weiss leant the side of her head against his right shoulder with her arms still around his neck. Jaune placed his cheek on the top of her head and just held her close. "I guess you know what I was doing." He said quietly.

She giggled at that, "Yeah. I should be mad that you did that in such a public place but I'll let it go because it was very, very good." She said with a small smile.

The two just sat there for a while, enjoying just being close to someone they loved. Eventually, Jaune had to speak up, "Should we get back to studying?"

Weiss was thinking before she sighed, "No. You ruined my concentration with that kiss. So, you're off the hook." Jaune smiled with that and Weiss started to get up from his lap. "I have another idea though. Help me clean this up." Jaune obliged. He helped her put away her supplies and put the books back where they belonged.

She then took Jaune by the hand before escorting him to Beacon's gardens. It was lovely with many kinds of flowers. "I come here from time to time. This place helps me relax or just forget about things that have been bothering me." She told him with a small smile. Jaune just smiled back at her before gently squeezing her hand. The two just took a simple walk through it; enjoying the sights and the smell of all the flowers. The two sat done in a small gazebo in the center and relaxed in the midday sun. Weiss was leant up against him with her eyes closed while Jaune split his time watching her rest or just looking out over the gardens. Right now, neither one of them had to worry about classes or the tournament. They didn't have worry about the responsibilities they had. They could just relax and be at peace.

Jaune turned to his left and saw a bush of yellow roses. He reached over and picked one, while watching out for the thorns. He took a deep breath to inhale the aroma before he gently placed in into Weiss' ponytail. The rose drew the eyes and accented the tiara she used for her ponytail. Weiss opened her eyes and looked at him confused. "What was that?"

Jaune took out his scroll so she could see the flower in her hair. She stared at her reflection for a bit. "I thought it would look nice." He was a bit worried that she wasn't saying anything and was just staring at the scroll. "If you don't like it, I'll get rid of it." He started to reach for it but she gently grabbed his hand. She lowered it and kissed his cheek.

"It's lovely." She said with a small smile before she leant against him again. "Thank you."

Jaune just smiled and let her relax for a bit more. They were interrupted a bit later when Weiss' scroll went off. She huffed in mild annoyance before she sat up straight and answered it. "Yes, Ruby, what is it?" She said slightly annoyed. "Oh, thank you for telling me. We'll be right there." She said happily. She hung up and stood up. "I have a surprise for you back at our dorms." She said with a smile.

Jaune had a smaller one and raised an eyebrow, "I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing, if I'm being honest." He said half joking.

Her smile didn't waver though, "Oh, hush. Have I ever done anything for you to mistrust me? Please, Jaune, for me?" she gave him an almost pleading look.

He sighed before he stood up, "Okay, you win." She took his arm and started to lead him back to the dorms and he could do nothing but smile at that.

They eventually got back to her dorm. She opened the door and he saw that the other members of her team were there as well, each on their beds doing their usual activities. They looked at the two and smiled. Ruby was soon in front of Weiss, "Weiss, the flower in your hair is so pretty!" She said excitedly.

Weiss blushed slightly, "Thank you, Ruby. Jaune did it. Could you get me a glass of water?" she asked. Ruby nodded before she disappeared with rose petals in her place before she was back with the glass. Weiss took the glass from her leader with an appreciative smile. She placed it on the windowsill before she took out the rose and placed it in the glass. She then turned back to Ruby. "Where are the clothes that were delivered?"

"Oh, yours is hanging up on the bathroom door. I thought you'd like to change into it as soon as you could. Jaune's is on the back of the door." She said excitedly before she pointed to the door besides Jaune.

Jaune raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Wait, mine? You ordered me clothes?" He looked around the door and saw a suit on a hanger in a plastic cover to keep it clean. He turned back to his girlfriend. "Okay? Why and how do you know my size?" he asked curiously.

"I made us reservations at a nice restaurant in Vale, so you needed the right attire. And I asked Nora for your size." She said with the same small smile she had since they left the gardens.

Jaune was impressed by how prepared she was. Along with not being sure whether to thank Nora or feel betrayed by her. He decided on the former. "Alright. I'll go change and be right back." He took the suit off the door before he went back into his room. His team was there, doing what they usually do in their down time, before they all looked at him with mild curiosity. He smirked at them, "You'll see in a second."

He went into the bathroom to freshen up before he took off his casual wear and put on the new suit. He looked into the mirror and was impressed. He was now wearing a black suit with matching shoes, a white shirt and a blue tie that brought out the color in his eyes. His hair was a mess as usual, so he decided to run a comb through it to make it tidy and to brush his bangs to the right. He then decided to apply a small dose of cologne for an added touch. He looked back in the mirror and thought he could pass as handsome. That was before he snorted. 'Yeah, right.' he thought. He then turned to exit the bathroom.

As he opened the door his team turned to him and stared wide eyed. Jaune chuckled, "So I take it, I look alright."

Ren soon had his stoic mask back on, "You look great, Jaune."

"I'll say!" Nora shouted as she jumped from her bed to land in front of him. She was now looking him up and down. "You look like a secret agent! What's your mission?!" she asked excitedly.

Jaune just ruffled her hair a bit, "Just a date with Weiss. She's the one that got it for me." He then turned to Pyrrha, who was still staring at him. He walked over to her and waved his hand in front of her eyes. She soon blinked and looked him in the eyes. He just smiled at her. "So, what do you think, partner?"

She blushed but didn't turn away, "You look very handsome, Jaune."

He leant down and kissed her on the cheek, "Thank you, Pyr. That means a lot." He stood up and started to make his way to the door. "Well, I have a date to go to. I'll be back later so, don't wait up." He heard confirmations from all of them before he closed the door behind him. He went to RWBY's dorm and knocked. Ruby answered the door and froze, her eyes the size of dinner plates. He smiled at her reaction before looking at the other two girls: Yang was staring at him with her mouth open and Blake was doing something similar but was drooling slightly. Jaune chuckled, "So, you girls like what you see?" he asked teasingly.

They all shook themselves from their dazes before Ruby blushed slightly, "You look really, really good."

Jaune gently ruffled her hair and for once, she didn't try to bat his hand away. "Thank you, Rosebud." He said genuinely and kissed her forehead.

"Mama likes." Jaune turned to see Yang staring at him with a look he knew all too well from her.

He smirked. "Sorry, Sun Fire. You have to wait a couple more days." Yang just huffed at that. So, Jaune walked over to her bed before motioning for her to lean closer to him. She did and he gave her a gently kiss. "Patience."

She had a loving smile with that and nodded. Jaune returned it before looking at the bed below Yang's and looked at his favorite Faunus. "Anything you wanna add, Kitten?"

She just smiled, "Just that Weiss has good taste." She then sat up and gave Jaune a gently kiss as well.

He smiled at her affection until the bathroom door opened and he had his mind shut down. There was Weiss, wearing a light blue dress that reached her ankles with the same colored heels. She had a slightly darker blue sash tied around her waist and a white shawl over her shoulders. She also had her hair tied back in a simple bun along with very little makeup: light pink lip gloss, a small amount of blush on her cheeks and a little bit of eye liner, similar to her eye color. "Gorgeous." He said just above a whisper. The RBY of RWBY could only nod in agreeance.

Weiss smiled at that and walked over to him, "Thank you, Jaune. You look handsome as well."

Jaune gently took her hand before leaving a light kiss on the back of it. She blushed slightly. He then smiled at her and held his arm out to her, "Shall we go, My lady?" She smiled and wrapped her arm around his before they made their way to the air field. The two enjoyed the ride in a comfortable silence and both enjoying the view, both the city and their date.

When they arrived, they made their way to a very fancy restaurant and the waiter guided them to their table. They each ordered their food and both settled for water to drink. Jaune because he really doesn't drink and the restaurant didn't carry what he does drink. Weiss told him she drank wine with dinner on rare occasions back at Atlas but didn't feel like it now. They had light conversation until their food arrived and then the conversation died down a bit. But eventually, Weiss wanted to ask him something. "Jaune, what are your parents like?"

He looked up at Weiss, "Why the sudden interest?"

"Well, we are dating now and they will be coming for the festival, so I want to know about them to make a good impression." She said bashfully.

He smiled, "Don't worry, Snow Angel. They're gonna love you. Maybe not as much as I do, but they will." She gave him an appreciative smile and he continued, "But to answer you, my parents are just amazing. My father, Noah Arc, is a very successful huntsman. He is the bane of Grimm and any who challenge him. But when he's home, he's the most loving and caring man I ever met. Honestly, he can be stern when he needs to but you know he does it because he loves you. I can't think of a better husband or father. And if I can be half the man he is, well…" He smiled more. "I think that would be enough for me."

Weiss nodded with that, "Then my mother, Alexandra Arc, she used to be a Huntress but she retired to raise my sisters and me. Apparently, when her and my father teamed up they were almost unstoppable. She cares for all of us with all her heart. She has so much love and care for people that it's still baffling to me." He had a small smile, "She's beautiful as well, and she passed that on to my sisters. She's also likes to tease us, like any mother does, and she is my confidant in my family. She still is."

Weiss nodded again with a small smile, "They sound amazing, Jaune." She looked down slightly, "I wish my parents are like that. My father is very cold and calculating. Sometimes, I think he sees us as pieces in a game rather than his children. My mother is distant and has a bit of a drinking problem. My younger brother, Whitley, is a bit of a brat and he doesn't really like me or my sister. Maybe even hates us." She gained a very small smile as she started talking again. "My older sister, Winter, is my role model. She's a proper lady and a skilled Atlas Specialist. She's probably my favorite family member, but I don't see her as much as I would like."

She suddenly felt a hand on top of her own and looked to see Jaune leaning forward to gently hold her's. He had an understanding smile, "I hope I get to meet her. Anyone special to you has to be amazing."

Weiss smiled more at that. 'He always sees the light in the dark. That's why I love him.' "I'm sure she'll like you too." She said confidently.

The two resumed their meal and soon left the restaurant. The two went for a short walk and Weiss led him to a small theater not too far from the restaurant. The two went in to find a stage with a piano in the center. The whole theater was empty though. "What are we doing here?" He asked her.

Weiss turned to him with a smile, "You said you love my singing. So, I pulled some strings to have the theater for only us for tonight. So, I can sing for you." She added bashfully.

Jaune was surprised but soon smiled at her, "I consider it an honor, Snow Angel, but can I make a request." She looked at him confused but nodded. The two were on stage and Jaune, made his way to the piano. He sat down and played a few keys before looking at her. "Can I play for you as you sing for me?"

Weiss was shocked, "You can play?"

Jaune nodded with a smile, "I needed a few hobbies. I learned how to play piano and guitar. So, can I play with you?"

She nodded with a smile and walked over to him, "I would love that. What song would you like to hear?"

Jaune just had a small smile, "Mirror Mirror."

The two then started the duet. Jaune played like a master and he was just so absorbed into the song. Weiss really did have a voice of an angel and hearing it in person gave him goosebumps. At the end of the song, he had small tears in his eyes. Weiss looked at him concerned. "Jaune, what's wrong?"

Jaune waved it off and wiped away the tears, "Sorry, Weiss, I love your singing but it just saddens me that you had to go through that." He looked her in the eyes, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not pitying you. I just wish you didn't have to go through that."

Weiss gained a small smile and sat next to him at the piano. "Thank you, Jaune. I appreciate that. But now I have my team, your team and you. I'm not lonely anymore and am very happy."

He smiled at her, "How about I play you a song now? This song was one I heard a long time ago. But I think it fits us well." He placed his hands on the keys and cleared his throat. "It's called Sanctuary and I apologize for my singing." He joked. He took a deep breath before he started to play and sing.

 _(Wnok uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)_

 _In you and I, there's a new land_  
 _Angels in flight,_  
 _(Wnok uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)_  
 _My sanctuary, my sanctuary,_  
 _Where fears and lies melt away,_  
 _Music will tie,_  
 _(Wnok uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)_  
 _What's left of me,_  
 _What's left of me?_

She was amazed by his skills at the piano, his singing wasn't perfect but his voice carried so much emotion in it. She was in awe, especially when she realized he was singing some of the lyric in reverse.

 _I watch you fast asleep,_  
 _All I fear means nothing_  
 _In you and I, there's a new land_  
 _Angels in flights,_  
 _(Wnok uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)_  
 _My sanctuary, my sanctuary,_  
 _Where fears and lies melt away,_  
 _Music will tie_  
 _(Wnok uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)_  
 _What's left of me,_  
 _What's left of me?_

Jaune had his eyes closed and was just absorbed into the song.

 _So many ups and downs_  
 _My heart's a battleground_  
 _(Snoitome eurt deen I)_  
 _(Wnok uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)_  
 _(Snoitome eurt deen I)_

 _You show me how to see_  
 _That nothing is whole and nothing is broken_  
 _In you and I, there's a new land,_  
 _Angels in flight,_  
 _(Wnok uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)_  
 _My sanctuary, my sanctuary,_  
 _Where fears and lies melt away,_  
 _Music will tie,_  
 _(Wnok uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)_  
 _What's left of me,_  
 _What's left of me now?_

He soon started to slow down the melody and finished the song.

 _My fears, my lies..._  
 _Melt away  
_

 _ _(Wnok uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)__

He finally opened his eyes and turned to Weiss. She had small tears in her eyes but closed the gap between them to give him the most loving kiss she could muster. Jaune returned the kiss and gently brought up his right hand to caress her left cheek, just below her scar.

They separated and they rested their foreheads against one another. "That is my new favorite song." Weiss said quietly.

Jaune just smiled. "I love you, Weiss."

"I love you, Jaune." They stayed sat like that and enjoyed the moment. Eventually, the two made it back to Beacon. Weiss had her arm around Jaune's and her head was resting on his shoulder. They arrived at their dorms and separated to get dressed before he would come back to her dorm. He already promised to stay the night with her the night he stayed with Ruby. He entered his darkened dorm and saw his team already sleeping. Pyrrha was in her bed cuddling the stuffed animal she had gotten from him. He smiled before he got dressed into his nightwear. He hung his suit back up on the hanger and put the plastic cover over it. He then left to go back over to RWBY's dorm. He knocked lightly and Weiss opened it in her nightgown; similiar to his dorm, the rest of RWBY were asleep. She escorted him to his bed and they laid down. He laid like how he cuddled with Ruby, but Weiss had her back against his chest and had him wrap his arms around her. He had his hands resting against her stomach and she had her right hand over his. Jaune gently kissed her neck before whispering, "Good night, Snow Angel."

She smiled and whispered back "Good night, my Knight." They then fell asleep.

* * *

 **A/N- If you all want to hear the version of Sanctuary I had in mind while writing this, here's the link for YouTube, watch?v=BjoeNqwUOog. I also plan on releasing a few more chapters this week, so be prepared. See you all later!  
**

 **Edit- Added the Lyrics to Sanctuary, just felt right. I Do Not own the song, at all. Just a fantastic piece of music**


	63. Date Week- Knightshade

Jaune woke up to find himself spooning Weiss, a sight he thought would never happen. He also found that the two were closer than when they fell asleep. His hands held her tighter against his chest and she was still holding his one hand in her's. He leant closer to her and buried his nose into her ivory locks and breathed in her natural scent. He smiled before he leant down and kissed her neck gently as to not wake her. He was shocked with what he heard next. "So, you're finally awake." He pulled back and she turned to lay on her back, with his arms still around her as he laid on his side. She gave him a warm smile, "Good morning."

He smiled back at her. "Good morning to you. Did you sleep well?"

She nodded with her smile still on her face, "I haven't slept that well in a long time." She let go of his hand and brought her hands to the back of his head before she lowered him to her lips. She kissed him fully and lovingly. This threw him through another loop. Weiss wasn't one to initiate a kiss like this one, she was comfortable initiating a light kiss because she was still self-conscience of her lack of experience. But this was something else, he stopped questioning it and returned the feelings in full. Almost immediately, he felt her deepen the kiss. Again, he was shocked but didn't fight it. The kiss got hot and heavy quickly and soon both were fighting against their need for oxygen. They pulled back with a trail of saliva between them.

After reclaiming his breath, Jaune spoke up. "Wow. What got into you? Not that I'm complaining."

She looked him in the eyes with a slight blush, "I was holding back for a while now. A part of me was afraid that somewhere down the line, you would lose interest in me. Especially, considering you're dating people like Pyrrha and Yang, as well. I couldn't deal with it so I decided to hold back, to try and keep the pain to a minimal when it happened. But after last night, I know you would never leave me. To hurt me. So, I want to show you how much I love you. I'm not afraid anymore."

Jaune was just staring at her before he gained his usual loving smile and cupped her cheek to stroke it. He didn't say a word but he didn't need to. Weiss closed her eyes and leant into his touch. She brought her hand to gently hold his against her cheek before she opened her eyes again to look into his. She had a look he wasn't used to seeing from her. She craned her neck a little and said a single word, just above a whisper. "Please."

Jaune slowly lowered his lips to her neck. He stopped and his breath tickled her neck causing her to shiver. He then kissed her neck gently at first but started to reapply it and increase the pressure with each kiss. She started to breath heavy again and turned her face more towards his hand on her cheek. She kissed the palm of his hand as he gently started to trail his tongue against her neck in a counterclockwise motion. He then started to suckle on her neck and as he did she started to moan quietly as she held his hand tighter. When he thought it was the right time, he gently bit down. She gasped and squeezed his hand more. He let go of her neck and placed a gentle kiss on the mark he left before moving to her lips and leaving just as gentle kiss to her lips. Neither tried to deepen it. They soon pulled apart and looked at each other with so much love. Weiss pulled herself closer to Jaune and he wrapped his arms around her as she did the same. Both just basking in the warmth of the other.

"That is cute and all, but today is my day. Remember?" The two froze and Jaune looked across to see Blake looking at them with a happy, yet teasing look.

"How long have you been awake?" he asked her.

"Not long. I woke up to see you finishing off that love bite. Sorry for intruding on the moment." She said sheepishly.

Jaune sighed, "It's okay." He looked down at Weiss and noticed her face was completely flushed. "You okay, Snow Angel?" She slowly looked up at him and nodded slightly. He kissed her gently before he whispered to her, "At least it was Blake. Yang would start her usual teasing and Ruby would be extremely excited." He smiled as he heard her giggle. He gently rubbed her back with that. "I should probably get ready." She nodded and they let go of each other. Jaune got up from the bed and walked over to Blake to give her a kiss. He would've done the same for Yang and Ruby but they were sleeping. He was not about to wake them up. "I'll be back." She nodded to him with a smiled as he left the dorm.

He went over to his own and opened the door to find Ren and Pyrrha still asleep. He didn't see Nora until she tackled him to the ground. "Jaune!"

Jaune had the air knocked out of him before he managed to push his honorary sister off him. "Nora, why?" he groaned out hoarsely.

She was just sitting on the floor with him, "I missed you." She said happily.

He just sighed before he ruffled her hair, "Missed you too." He soon got off the ground and then helped her up. Ren and Pyrrha were awoken by the commotion. "Morning." He said with a smile. They both muttered the same to him. He then went to the bathroom to wash up and get changed into his usual attire. He stepped out to see Pyrrha getting ready to go in next. She gave him a light kiss before she went in. He said goodbye to his honorary siblings before he left his dorm. He knocked on the door and it was soon opened by Blake in her usual attire without her bow. He smiled and instinctively lifted his hand to rub her head between her ears. She purred slightly before she pulled him into the room. As soon as the door was closed, she kissed him and he returned it. Afterwards she snuggled up to him in a hug.

Jaune returned the hug and smiled, "You're very affectionate today, Kitten."

"I've just missed you. You've been off with the others and I'm so glad it's my turn."

Jaune smile and kissed her ear. "Well, I'm your's all day. So, what do you wanna do?"

"Nothing too extravagant. But first, breakfast." She smiled at him as she stepped back from the hug and started to put on her bow. They then started to make their way to the cafeteria. They sat down and like he did with his other girlfriends, he sat next to Blake. She wrapped her one arm around him and leant against him as she ate. Everyone was confused. Blake was affectionate with Jaune but never in public due to her hate of being the center of attention. So, this was weird but she had a huge smile so no one said anything.

After breakfast, Blake and Jaune just walked around Beacon for a bit. They had a bit of light conversation as they walked around. They eventually found a bench and they sat down. Blake cuddled up to Jaune and just relaxed against him. She just seemed happy in the sunlight. Jaune smirked, "I think you're becoming cattier every day, Kitten."

She responded but didn't open her eyes, "In that case, should I start scratching you when you annoy me?"

"You could." Jaune said as he moved his hand under her bow to gently scratch her ear. She stiffened at his touch, trying not to purr. He just kept scratching. "But I know how to make you content."

She groaned slightly in annoyance. "Maybe. But I can still melt your heart."

"Really? I think I can still resist." As soon as he said that, she laid her head on his lap to look up at him. She moved her hands up near her face like a cat after she shifted her bow slightly to reveal her ears and gave him her big, kitty eyes. Jaune tried his best to resist but he soon sighed, "Damn it." She gained a smiled before he moved his one hand to her bare stomach and gently started to rub it, similar to what someone would do with a cat. She hummed in content until he started to trace her belly button with his finger. She started to giggle so, he started to play with her stomach and belly button more. "Hmmm, seems my Kitten is ticklish." He said with a devious smirk.

"Jaune. Stop." She tried to say through her giggling fit. In response, he just played with her belly button more and she just started to laugh. She tried to roll off his lap but his other arm was holding her there. He just kept on tickling her. "Jaune, please." She said desperately through her laughing.

"I don't know. I really love you laugh." Blake's cheeks were flushed now, whether from the laughing or the compliment was unknown to him. He figured she had enough and stopped. She calmed down and was slowly regaining her breath. Jaune readjusted her bow to hide her ears. Honestly, they were lucky no one came by during all of that.

Blake was soon calm once again, she looked up at him and turned away with a blush, "I hate you."

Jaune adopted a faux hurt expression, "Well that sucks. I still love you though." He gently moved a lock of her hair behind her human ear before leaning down to kiss her cheek.

She looked at him from the corner of her eye. "I'm still mad at you." She said stubbornly.

Jaune picked her up in a bridal carry. She was so light in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, in fear that she would fall. Jaune started to walk away from the bench but she had no idea on where they were going. She just decided to go with it and buried her face into his chest to deeply inhale his scent. She relaxed further with that and smiled. "So, what do you have planned?" he asked her curiously.

She was quiet for a bit. "Library." She said simply and Jaune nodded, knowing exactly what she meant. He slowly made their way to the library. Once there, he carried her to a private corner of the library. Very few students ever came there, so Blake and Jaune used it as their private getaway. Jaune was about to sit Blake down on a love seat located there but she refused to budge. "This is your punishment." She said simply.

Jaune just smiled and sat down with his back leant against the arm of the love seat while he held her in his arms as she sat in his lap. "If this is punishment then maybe I should misbehave more."

She just looked at him and stared into his eyes with her amber orbs. "Don't you think about it." She inched closer until her lips were barely a centimeter from his own. "I have other ways I could punish you."

Jaune gave her a smile. "The worst punishment you could do to me, would be to leave me." He said seriously as they were staring into each other's eyes. "But I know you will never do that to me. Because I will never do that to you." She smiled at him then pressed her lips gently against his and he reciprocated it.

After the kiss, Blake pulled out the sequel to Ninja's of Love. They hadn't been able to read it because of all the distractions as of late. They were close to the end and both really wanted to finish it. Jaune held the book as Blake had her head against his chest. As per the usual, Blake had removed her bow and Jaune was absentmindedly rubbing and scratching her ears. It was an action that calmed both of them down nowadays. As they were reading, Blake was getting cold and Jaune draped his hoodie over her shoulders to keep her warm. She thanked him by giving him a loving kiss. They were currently finishing up the final climax of the plot but both knew that wasn't the end of the book. The steamiest scene was right after it and both were excited to read it. Especially, considering who they were reading it with.

As they were about to start the final chapter of the book, Jaune and Blake's stomachs growled. They were pulled from the book and looked at each other confused. They just had breakfast not long ago. Jaune pulled out his scroll and they saw that it was now midafternoon. They looked at each other in disbelief before Jaune chuckled. "Why are we surprised by this still? We always lose track of time when we're reading together."

Blake smiled at him, "You do have a point. What are we going to do for lunch though? Lunch got done in the cafeteria a while ago and dinner won't be served for a few more hours."

"I think there's still some tuna in the common room. I could make us some sandwiches. It won't be much but it'll tie us over."

Blake started to drool a bit with that. "Please do. Your tuna sandwiches are so good."

"Of course, Kitten. But, I'll need my usual payment." He smiled before she kissed his lips and face furiously. Jaune was just stunned by this, 'She really does love tuna.' He thought. He chuckled and gently pushed her away. "Okay, okay. Let's go." The two got off the love seat and Blake quickly retied her bow. They both left the library and made their way back to the dorms and the common room.

Once there, Jaune started to fix them a few tuna sandwiches each. Meanwhile, Blake was busy setting up a kettle of tea for them to drink. It wasn't long before they were both done preparing the food and sat down to enjoy their light lunch. When they were done eating, they cleaned up any mess that they made and as they were leaving, Jaune asked her, "So, are we going back to the library or do you have somewhere else in mind?"

Blake thought for a bit and was a little embarrassed by what she had in mind, "Um, would you mind if we went back to my dorm?"

Jaune just shook his head, "No problem. Today's your day and I want you to be happy. So, let's go." He gave her his usual smile.

She smiled back and the two made their way back to RWBY's dorm. When they opened the door, Zwei ran up to them and Blake took a step back instinctively. Jaune knelt to the pup and gently patted his head. "Hey, Zwei. Sorry to ask but could you give us some space? Blake and I want to have some time for just us."

Zwei tilted his head before looking at Blake then back to Jaune before he barked happily. He then walked over to Weiss' bed before he jumped onto it and curled up in a ball to fall asleep. Jaune smiled before he turned to Blake. "You know, he's not so bad. Plus, considering how he fought during the Breach, it'd be good to have him on your side." He smirked at her. "Maybe he'll save you one day."

Blake just gave him an annoyed look before she took his hand and led him to her bed. Jaune hung his hoodie over one of the chairs before he followed. They both laid down, Blake removed her bow, and when both were comfortable, they started to finish the final chapter of her book. As they kept reading, Blake cuddled up to him more and more. While, Jaune would hold her closer to himself. As time went on, he was taking notice of two very soft parts of her body pushing against his side. That also had a very noticeable effect on his body the more time went on and he was hoping Blake wouldn't notice. Except, she did. This caused her to blush, after all the time they read together, she knew that the book wasn't causing it. It was her. That caused the mild heat she was feeling to multiply.

Soon the book was finished but there was certain level of tension in the air that both could feel clearly. The two looked at each other and saw something just below the surface. The two leaned in and had their lips meet. The two almost instantly deepened the kiss. Blake wrapped her arms around his neck and was running her hands through his hair. Jaune had wrapped his arms around her lower back and was pulling her closer, he could feel her ebony locks on the back of his hands. Jaune, once again, trapped her tongue between his lips and started to suck down on it. Blake moaned at this and began to grind against him. Jaune groaned at this due to the tension in that specific area. This gave her the chance to take his tongue and do the same to him. To repay her, he brought one of his hands done to massage her rear and the other went up to her ears and started to rub them. The two moaned slightly before their eyes connected again and they went right back to the kiss with renewed vigor. The grinding and massaging never stopped until the two separated when they needed air and could no longer ignore it.

The two just laid there in each other's arms and just tried to calm down. "Jaune?" he heard her say and he looked down to see her with a blush. "Remember when you were with me and Pyrrha and you did… _that_ to my ears?"

Jaune blushed and nodded. She moved her ears to be closer to him, "Could you….do it again?" Jaune blushed a bit more. The way she was asking and how bashful she was being made the whole thing seem very intimate.

But he resolved himself. He soon lowered his lips to between her ears and gently kissed. He kept his lip in her hair and he spoke, "As you wish, my Kitten." He gently started to kiss both of her ears. Going to one then the other. Jaune then took her right ear into his mouth and started to suckle on it as his hand gently massaged her other ear. Blake almost instantly started to moan but it was like a hybrid between a mewl and purr. Jaune than shifted to her other ear to do the same as his hand massaged, the now, slightly damp ear. Blake was moaning more and was gripping his shirt tightly now. Jaune kept alternating between her two ears for a while, until he took her left ear and gently nibbled it. At that point, Blake nearly screamed in pleasure. Jaune pulled back to see Blake more flushed and out of breath than last time. "Are you okay?' he asked in concern.

Blake looked up to him and her eyes had a glazed over look to them. She soon gained a predatorial look and positioned herself on top of Jaune. She placed her hand on his shoulders to hold him still and Jaune was just stunned. He had no idea what to do. Blake started to move her face down to his neck and he knew what she was going to do. Jaune closed his eyes and prepared to feel her teeth. He was shocked when he felt her tongue. She was gently licking his neck affectionately. This lasted for a bit and he heard she was purring. She then kissed his neck and trailed kisses from the side of his neck to his throat before going down to his chest. She then laid on top of him and held him close as she purred louder. "Um, are you okay, Blake?"

She looked back to him and saw her eyes were back to normal. She nodded with a smile, "Yes. That was just so good that I was just in a daze." She looked down, almost in shame. "I didn't know if I could control myself. Luckily, I did or things could've gone a lot further." She looked up at him in a panic, "Not that I'm saying I wouldn't want to go further with you, I'm just not ready yet."

Jaune just smiled and gently placed his hand on her chin before he kissed her gently. She returned it. As they broke apart he spoke up, "It's okay, Blake. I'm not exactly ready either." She smiled at that. "Do you wanna relax her and calm down before dinner?" She laid her head back onto his chest and nodded. Jaune just wrapped his arms around her as they just relaxed.

After a while, the two left the dorm, with his hoodie and her bow back in place, and made their way back to the cafeteria for dinner. They ate with their teams and friends before they went for a nighttime stroll afterwards. The cold air and stars made it amazing. Blake shivered a bit but just held herself close to Jaune. He didn't mind. "I'm sorry we didn't do much today, Blake. I'm sure your day was lackluster." He said sadly.

Blake just kissed his cheek and he turned to her. She had a big smile on her face. "Jaune, today was amazing. I'm not someone who needs the extravagant. It was enough to just have you with me." She rested her head on his shoulder as they kept walking. "Everything that you are just makes me feel safe, warm and loved. I haven't felt like this in a while. I thought I did before but it was nowhere close to this. So, don't look down on today or yourself. Because today and you are so much more than perfect."

Jaune smiled and kissed her lovingly. She returned it. The two made their way back to the dorms before they went to change into their nightwear. He went back over to RWBY's dorm and Blake opened it before he could even knock. She pulled him in to give him a loving kiss, in front of her team no less. They were shocked before Yang shouted teasingly, "Get a room!"

They just ignored her and they laid down on the bed. Blake cuddled up to his left side, she placed her hand on his chest and she buried her face into his neck, "I love you, Jaune."

He smiled and wrapped his arm around her, "I love you, Blake." They closed their eyes and cuddled closer before the room was soon filled with her purring.


	64. Date Week- Dragon Slayer

Jaune woke up to a very strange sensation. He felt a slight pressure on his neck and the pressure was coming from something soft. He opened his eyes and saw something black. His mind fully woke up and he realized that it was Blake's ear. He felt the pressure again and he remembered how they fell asleep. "Blake, why are you kissing my neck?" he asked quietly.

He felt her body go rigid with his words. She pulled back and looked at him with a sheepish look on her face, "Morning, Jaune."

"Morning, Kitten. So, why were you kissing my neck?" he asked again.

She looked away bashfully "I didn't think you'd wake up."

Jaune got a devious idea and before she knew it, Jaune had started to kiss her. She hummed in happiness until Jaune positioned himself over her and held her arms above her head. He pulled back with that same devious smirk, "So, my Kitten wants to be sneaky, huh? Maybe I should teach you a lesson?"

Blake knew his game. He wasn't even holding her arms tightly, she could get out if she wanted or he'd let her go if she was uncomfortable. But she was fine with this game. She put on a face of mock horror. "Please, don't do it. I'll behave from now on."

"Hmmm, I don't believe you." He slowly moved his lips to her neck and lightly placed them on her skin before speaking just above a whisper. "You'll never learn otherwise." She shivered with his words before he started to kiss her neck. The kisses soon turned to him sucking on her neck and she started to moan quietly. He used his right hand to 'pin' her arms above her head while his left hand massaged her ear. She started to purr slightly along with her quiet moans. Jaune found the right time and bit down. Blake gasped and she shivered more when he gently licked the mark before he gently ran his tongue across her neck to her throat. From there, he licked up to her chin before giving her a loving kiss and releasing her arms. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back. They soon pulled away and just looked into each other's eyes for a while. He soon sighed, "I should probably go. Knowing Yang, today is going to be exhausting." He smirked with that.

Blake giggled slightly, "You'll be fine. She loves you too much to break you."

Jaune chuckled before he got off her bed. He was about to go to the door, when he heard someone whisper, "Jaune." He turned to Yang's bed just in time for the blonde brawler to jump off it and into his arms. He lost his balance and fell onto his back. He groaned slightly but before he could say anything, Yang kissed him fully before deepening the kiss. Jaune was shocked to say the least before he started to return the kiss with as much heat.

He eventually pushed her away to allow himself to breathe. After regaining his breath, he just looked up at her, "What was that about?"

She just smiled down at him, "You told me to be patient but I can't anymore." She started to lean down again. "I need you now." She said in a sultry tone. She kissed him again but this one was more loving than the first. He returned it with little issue. The kiss lasted for a while before they separated and Yang just looked at Jaune lovingly. She would've gone for another if it wasn't for the voice that spoke up.

"As cute as you two are, could you hold off on that? It's too early in the morning for us to see that." The two stopped and saw Weiss was looking at them with a slightly annoyed look from being awoken. Ruby was on her bunk, staring down at them with a smirk that made Yang proud. And Blake was looking at them with a similar look to Ruby.

Yang looked at them before sitting up and pulling Jaune into a hug with his head snug against her breasts. "What? You all had your time with him, now it's my turn." She kissed the top of his head while he was blushing a deep red from the close proximity to her assets.

He cleared his throat, "So, what do you want to do today, Sun Fire?" he asked.

She looked down at him with a smirk, "That's a surprise, Hero. But, I do want to spar with you after breakfast, you game?"

He nodded, "Absolutely. It's been a while since we last fought." He smirked back.

"See, this is why I love you." She said.

He smiled at her and gently tapped her arm. She let him go and he went to get changed. When he arrived, the rest of his team was already awake. Pyrrha and Nora were already changed and he could hear Ren in the bathroom. He was able to skillfully dodge Nora's attempt to tackle him this time around. He looked down at her with a smirk while she was laying on the ground pouting. Ren came out of the bathroom and he went in to change and freshen up. When they were all ready, they left their dorm and met up with RWBY on the way to the cafeteria. Jaune sat next to Yang and she had him wrap his arm around her as she kissed his cheek. Jaune just smiled at her and they enjoyed their breakfast. Both of their breakfasts were light due to them fighting afterwards.

Yang led him to the sparring rooms shortly after that. She was just smiling the entire time they were walking. When they arrived, Jaune decided to get right to it, "So, what kinda fight are we having?"

Yang just stepped into one of the rings with Ember Celica still in its compact form. "Just a regular hand-to-hand. Maybe we can have a real fight afterwards but for now, I just want a few spars. I'll make you a deal too. The one with the most wins gets a reward from the other."

He smiled at her before he stepped in the ring and stood across from her. "As you wish, Sun Fire." He got into his fighting stance as she did the same. They both waited for a few seconds before they charged at each other.

* * *

The two went for a few rounds and were even with each other. They were on their last match and both were getting winded. Jaune went for a right hook followed by a left uppercut but Yang managed to avoid both before tackling him to the ground. She straddled him and pinned his arms besides his head. "Looks like I win, Hero." She said smugly.

"Not so sure about that." He smirked before he shifted his weight and managed to wrap his legs around her chest. Before she knew what was going on, he pulled her down to the mat with his legs and reversed their positions. He was now on top and had her arms pinned. She looked up at him shocked and he was just smirking at her. "Looks like _I_ win."

She smiled at him, "Seems like it. So, what do you want as a reward?" She asked and raised her chest slightly towards him, trying to give him a hint on what she wanted.

Jaune just smirked, "Something simple." He leant down and captured her lips in a chaste kiss. She returned it but was slightly disappointed. He pulled back before kissing her cheeks, forehead, the tip of her nose, chin and both sides of her neck gently. She giggled at the treatment he was showering her with. He then kissed her one last time on her lips. She kissed him back before he raised his head just a few inches from her's. "That was quite the reward." He said with a smile.

She smiled back at him, "You probably do this with all the girls." She said teasingly.

"Maybe." He gently rubbed his nose against hers. "But I'm not with them, am I? I'm with my kick ass Goddess of the Sun." he said honestly.

Yang blushed and was having trouble looking him in the eyes. "Why am I not used to this yet?" she asked. Jaune just chuckled before he kissed her briefly one last time before standing up and offering her a hand. She took it and he pulled her to her feet. She stretched slightly before gripping her shoulder in pain, "I think I went overboard this time."

Jaune took her hand and brought her to one of the benches. He had her sit down as he gave her a water bottle. She started to drink it as Jaune walked behind her. He started to give her a shoulder massage and she started to hum in relief. She sat there and enjoyed the pain relief he was supplying her with. She was still sipping from her water bottle with her eyes closed. "Hey, Jaune? Would you mind going a little harder? There's one knot that's still bothering me."

"Sure. How's this?" He started to apply more pressure and Yang groaned slightly before she sighed, "Yeah, that's it." She felt the knot being worked on and loosen up. After a few minutes, she felt his hands gently move to her neck and apply a light pressure.

"Your neck is a bit stiff, do you mind?" he asked her. She just shook her head and hummed. Jaune took that as a 'go ahead' and kept gently working her sore muscles.

"If I lay down on the bench, could you do my back too?" she asked in a content voice. He kissed her head in response and took his hands away. She laid on her stomach on the bench while resting her head on her folded arms and Jaune started to work on the muscles of her back. Her only responses were content sighs and quiet moans on occasions. Jaune's hands drifted down to her lower back and she heard a few audible pops. Yang gasped slightly before sighing.

Jaune was done shortly after that. "How are you feeling, Sun Fire?" he asked his blonde girlfriend.

Yang sat up and stretched her arms and back a bit. "I feel so good. Like a new me." She smiled at him. "Thank you, Jaune."

He just gave her one in return, "Never a problem."

She soon had her teasing smirk back, "Of course not, you had your hands all over a gorgeous woman." She winked at him and he turned away and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. She giggled before she stood up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Come on, let's grab lunch. We both worked up an appetite."

Jaune agreed and the two went back to the cafeteria in their gym clothes. They grabbed a couple burgers and fries before sitting down. They enjoyed their meals, except that Yang kept stealing Jaune's fries. Eventually, he discreetly pinched her rear and she yelped slightly before turning to him shocked. "Did you really just do that?"

Jaune was still eating his burger and with a partially full mouth spoke, "I don't know. What do you think I did?"

She pointed at him, "You know what you did, so just admit it."

He shrugged, "Don't know what you're talking about." He said with a smirk. She was about to say something before he did it again but not trying to do it sneakily this time. She yelped again before she gave him a glare. "Yes?" he said teasingly. She just responed by grabbing the hand that was pinching her and playfully bit it. Jaune jerked his hand away, "What's with you sisters and biting?"

She got a teasing smile, "Maybe we're just biters."

Jaune blushed slightly before he sighed, "You are such a handful." Was all he said as he finished his burger.

She hugged him and rested her chin on his shoulder as she just looked at him. "Yup! But you love me anyways."

He just turned to her and kissed her forehead, "Was that ever in question?" She just smiled at that. The two finished their meals before they went back to their dorms. Yang wanted to go into town but they both smelt like sweat. They went to their respective dorm and showered. Once Jaune was clean, he put on his usual clothes and went across to RWBY's dorm. He knocked on the door and waited. After a bit, he didn't hear anyone. He raised an eyebrow and knocked again. There was still only silence. He reached for the door and opened it. He looked in and saw that the room was empty. He walked in and looked around before scratching the back of his head. "Where did she go? She said to come here afterwards."

Jaune was pulling out his scroll to message her when the door opened. Not the door to hallway but the bathroom door. He turned to see Yang stepping out with only a towel hiding her modestly. She had a second towel to dry her hair and as she finished, she flipped it behind her before opening her eyes and seeing Jaune. Her eyes widened in shock while Jaune just stared, frozen by what he saw. His mind soon restarted and he blushed a deep red before he turned his back to her. "I'm so sorry, Yang!" he practically shouted.

Yang didn't reply and Jaune was certain that she was mad. Until he felt a pair of arms wrap around his chest and her press her barely covered chest against his back. He blushed more and Yang leaned in to whisper into his ear, "Look who's impatient now. Trying to skip the rest of our date to get to the grand finale."

Jaune wasn't sure how serious she was but he nervously cleared his throat, "Could you please put some clothes on."

"Hmmm. I guess." She replied and kissed his neck before letting him go. He sighed in relief but soon went rigid as he heard her towel hit the floor. A part of him was telling him to turn around and take a peek but he quickly shook his head. Even if Yang would most likely not mind him doing that, he respected her too much to do that. He was soon roused from his thoughts when she spoke again. "I'm decent now. You can look, Hero."

He slowly turned around and saw that she was indeed wearing her usual attire. He sighed, "Thank Oum."

Yang just gave him a teasing look and rested her hand on her hip, "Wow, way to make a girl feel special. Most guys would love to see all of this." She motioned to herself.

"It's not that I'm not interested. This is just the way I am." He said as he looked down with that.

He looked back up when Yang placed a hand on his cheek. She was just smiling at him and gave him a meaningful kiss. Jaune returned it before she pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "I know and you have no idea how much that means to me." She motioned to the door with her head, "Come on. We still have plans."

He smiled at her and nodded. She led him to the airfield while holding his hand. Shortly after arriving in Vale, they found themselves on Bumblebee. Yang was just driving them through Vale for a while. Not that either minded. They both loved the closeness they had with each other and the wind flying past them just made it better somehow. Yang wasn't driving as insane as last time but she was still driving somewhat recklessly. They drove around until the sun started to set; that's when the two drove to Junior's club to enjoy the rest of their night.

Junior was a bit hesitant to let them stay but they both promised that they were there for a night out and that was it. He begrudgingly let them stay and both just enjoyed their time. They danced for a good portion of the time. They ordered some food when they got hungry and drinks when they needed a break. Honestly, it was a nice change of pace. The only mishap they had was when Jaune went to the bathroom and came back to see some macho asshole hitting on Yang. He knew that Yang could handle herself but that didn't stop him from punching the guy across the club. Him and his buddies were apparently Huntsmen-in-training as well and wanted to teach Jaune a lesson. That was until he absorbed some energy from his fire dust crystal and surround both his arms in flames before motioning for them to bring it on. They decided that leaving was probably their best option. Jaune calmed down and Yang kissed him.

It wasn't that long after midnight as the two were walking out of the club. Well, Jaune was walking and supporting Yang, who had a few too many. Jaune had just as many as her but his aura made it so that he wasn't even tipsy. "Cwome oin. Lesh keep danshin!" Yang slurred.

Jaune just rolled his eyes at her, "Yang, you can barely stand. We need to get back anyways."

"I'm fine, shee?" she tried to stand but almost fell over.

Luckily, Jaune was there to catch her. He sighed before he knelt down and pulled her on to his back to carry her piggyback. She cuddled up to him and he started walking. He pulled out his scroll and realized that they missed the last ship to Beacon. He started to make his way to the nearest hotel for them to stay at for the night.

"Where are we going?" Yang mumbled into his shoulder.

"A hotel. We missed the last ship back." He felt her nod into his shoulder with that. They eventually made it to the hotel and Jaune paid for a room for the two of them. They went to their room and when he was in, he went to the bed and gently sat Yang down on it. "Why don't you make yourself comfortable? I need to use the bathroom." She nodded absentmindedly as he made his way to the bathroom. When he was done, he took out his scroll and messaged their teams to tell them what was going on. When that was done, he took off his hoodie, boots, socks and jeans. He hated sleeping in jeans and he had no change of clothes. So, he was now just in his boxers and t-shirt.

He opened the door and saw that Yang was laying on the bed, but only in her yellow bra and panties. The rest of her clothes were just thrown on the floor. He blushed at the sight of her and his mind went back to earlier that day before he shook his head to clear his thoughts. He placed his clothes on the couch, where he would be sleeping, before he turned off the lights, except for the lamp on the nightstand. He walked over to the bed with a glass of water. He put the water on the nightstand for her in the morning then went to cover her with the blanket. As he was reaching for the blanket, she grabbed his hand and pulled him on the bed. Before he knew it, she was straddling him with a gleam in her eyes. "Time for the grand finale I mentioned earlier." She said. She was speaking a bit clearer but he could tell that she was still intoxicated.

She quickly grabbed his shirt and yanked it off him before throwing it to the couch. She then trailed her hands from his shoulders down his chest and stomach to feel his muscles, along with his scar. She was about to grab the hem to his boxers when he grabbed her hands and stopped her. "Yang, stop." He said seriously.

She looked him in the eyes to see that he was serious before she looked down. "Why, Jaune? Why won't you let me show you?" She started shaking before she looked back into his eyes as tears trailed down her face. It broke his heart. "Why won't you let me show you how much I love you? Every guy that showed any interest in me, only wanted to 'score' with me. Nothing else. They didn't care about me, just my body." She sniffed at that and cried more. "Most people see me as nothing more than a bimbo. I try to ignore that but no matter what, it hurts so much. Especially, since I'm still a virgin. I always wanted my first time to be with the one I love." She looked him more in the eyes with that. "But you were never like that. You got to know me because you wanted to be my friend. You never saw me as a bimbo, just a girl. Even after we got together, you have done nothing sexual to me besides what I guided you to do. That means so much to me because you truly love me for me." She covered her eyes as she cried more. "So, why won't you let me show you how much I love you and how much I want to repay you for this?"

Jaune instantly sat up and held her close. She pulled her hands away and Jaune instantly kissed her. It was kiss full of love and nothing else. She soon melted into the kiss and thoroughly enjoyed it. They separated and he put her head on his chest as he stroked her hair gently. "I'm sorry, Yang, but we can't do that. As much as I want to and as much as you may say you do, it wouldn't be right. If we do take that step, I want us both to be ready and I want us to be able to look back on it happily. We can't do that with you like this. I'll always question whether you were actually ready and wanted it or if it was just the alcohol. And if that was the case, I'd always feel like I took advantage of you. I don't want to do that to you, I love you too much to do that." He gently raised her head to look at him, "So, for now, can you wait? Until we're both ready and we know the time is right."

Yang looked him in the eyes before kissing him as fresh tears started to run down her cheeks. She was overjoyed from the amount of genuine care he had for her. She pulled back with a smile, "Thank you, Jaune. For loving me so much."

Jaune gently wiped away her tears and gave her his own smile in return. "You deserve nothing less, Sun Fire."

She leant her head against his shoulder and pushed him back on the bed. "Can we sleep like this, please?"

Jaune grabbed the blanket and covered the two of them before kissing her head as his answer. She wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled more into him as he gently ran his fingers up and down her back to calm her. She laid there and just listened to his heartbeat before lulling to sleep. Jaune heard her breathing slow down and knew she was asleep. He turned off the lamp and wrapped his arms around her lower back to hold her gently. He smiled before he soon followed her lead.

* * *

 **A/N- This should've been out last week but life got in the way sadly. Plus, I got distracted by helping azndrgn with his newest one-shot, Jaune of Ranger, go check it out and show it some love. It made my inner child so happy to do. Anyways, this marks the end of the date week and will go back to plot next chapter. If you know how Vol 3 begins, you might be able to guess what will happen. I'm not sure when I'll be able to update next but let's hope its soon. See you all later!  
**


	65. Meeting the Parents

Jaune woke up to the strange feeling to something heavy on top of him. He looked down to see that it was Yang laying completely on top of him. She still had her arms around his neck and his arms were still around her lower back. He remembered everything from the night before and blushed when he remembered that they were literally only in their underwear. He soon calmed when he saw the peaceful expression on Yang's face. Since there was no way for him to get up without waking her, he accepted his fate and laid there. He started to run his hand gently through her hair as she slept and she sighed happily at that. He just smiled at her. He wanted to check the time but his scroll was in his jeans on the couch and Yang's was most likely with her clothes on the ground. He just closed his eyes and started to think about what Yang told him last night and he was still angry over her words. 'No one should treat her like that. She deserves nothing but absolute respect and love. And that's exactly what I'll give her.'

Jaune was pulled from his thoughts when Yang shifted on top of him. He looked and saw that she was still asleep, so he was going to close his eyes again. That was until he felt her kiss his bullet scar and his eyes flew open. He looked to see that she was still asleep but when she shifted she moved her head to be just over the scar. She kept kissing it tenderly but each kiss was making him shudder. It wasn't as sensitive as before but it was still sensitive overall. It was driving him nuts and he almost threw her off him when she started to suck on it. "Yang, stop." He whispered to try to get her to stop but not wake her.

To his relief it worked. What shocked him, was when she opened her eyes and looked him into his own. "Since you asked nicely." She said with a small smile.

"You were awake the whole time?" he asked.

She nodded, "When you were stroking my hair, I woke up. When you stopped, I looked and I thought you went back to sleep. I thought I'd give you a nice wake up." She said with a teasing smile.

He just stared at her, "You are such a brat." He said jokingly before she giggled. She gasped when she felt his hand go from her lower back to gripping both her butt cheeks. He just smirked, "My turn." Was all he said before he started to grope them. She started to breath heavily as he did so and her grip around his neck tightened a bit. She moved her lips to his and the two kissed before they deepened it. Yang was now moaning into his mouth as he was massaging her. The kiss got heavier and hotter as time went on. Jaune decided to end it by sucking down on her tongue as he squeezed both cheeks at once. Yang moaned loudly before he let her go. She laid her head on his chest as she tried to regain her breath.

Jaune just kissed her head repeatedly as his fingers gently and slowly trailed up from her rear to her back. She shivered at his gentle touch. She then looked up to him when his hands stopped at her upper back and held her. "You finished already?" she asked in a sultry tone.

He nodded, "Yup. I don't think we should go any further. Plus, I'm positive that you have a hangover." He then motioned to the night stand where the glass of water was. She gave him a light kiss as a 'thank you' before reaching over to take it, while still laying on him. She drank about half of it before she brought it to his lips. He smiled before he drank the rest as she held it. She placed the glass where she found it before she kissed him again.

She eventually pulled away and looked him in the eyes before whispering, "Thank you."

"Not a problem. I thought you could use it." He said with a small smile.

She slowly shook her head, "Not just for the water but for last night as well." She gently placed her hands on his cheeks and looked him deeply in the eyes. "I told you yesterday that the way you treat me means so much. And how you acted last night proves that no one could ever love me as much as you."

He just smiled at her. "I already told you, Yang, you deserve nothing but love and respect. And since you trust me with your heart, I'm going to prove that I'm worthy of that honor."

"You have nothing to prove." Was all she said as she kissed him lovingly. Jaune returned it and they both melted into the moment. They kissed repeatedly, with each kiss just as loving as the one before. They lost track of time but neither complained. Jaune started to trail kisses from her lips to her neck before he started to suck and lick the spot he knew so well now. Yang was moaning quietly at this and was gently running her hands through his own locks of hair. Jaune finally bit down and she gasped in pleasure. Jaune let go of her soft skin before kissing the mark lovingly, repeatedly. Yang gently grasped his face and kissed him again before she sat up and looked down at him. Jaune could now see all of Yang with only her yellow underwear, which he thought was beautiful on her. She slowly started to reach behind her for the clip of her bra but Jaune gently took her hands.

He shook his head, "We should get going soon. We need to get back to Beacon." She nodded but looked disappointed. Jaune sat up with her still in his lap and kissed her one last time. He then leant his forehead against her's to look into her eyes. "We have all the time in the world, why don't we wait until everything feels perfect to do that? You don't need to do _that_ to show me how much you love me, Sun Fire, what you do for me now is more than enough."

She soon smiled and nodded. The two got off the bed and started to get dressed. They checked their scrolls and saw they had a few messages each from Ruby. They sent her a message that they were leaving the hotel now and would be back as soon as they could. They left the hotel and stopped off at a small café to grab coffee and breakfast sandwiches for the road. Yang made it a point to take a bite out of Jaune's and made it up to him by offering him a bite of her own, which he accepted. By the time they got to the airship, they were done with their breakfast and they spent the rest of the flight leaning on one another and enjoying the moments they would have alone for the time being.

As the two were stepping off the airship, Jaune was tackled by a red blur. He almost fell to the ground but barely managed to keep his balance. He looked down and held Ruby closer. "Morning, Rosebud. Missed me?" he said jokingly.

She quickly looked up at him and nodded. "Of course, I did but we're going to be late if we don't leave soon." She said in almost in a panic.

Jaune looked at her confused, "Late for what?"

Ruby's eyes widened before she let him go and turned to Yang. "Yang, you didn't ask him?" she said annoyed.

Yang scratched the back of her neck nervously. "Whoops, guess that slipped my mind." She chuckled sheepishly after that.

Ruby sighed in annoyance. Jaune was still confused by this, "Ask me what, exactly?"

Ruby turned to back to him, "Well, our dad wanted us to come back to Patch this weekend to see him before the Vytal Festival started. We wanted you to come and meet him. So, will you?" She asked excitedly.

Jaune meanwhile was just staring at her wide eyed. He wasn't moving or blinking. Ruby titled her head in confusion before she started to wave her hand in front of his face with no effect. "Uh, I think you broke him, Sis." said Yang.

* * *

Jaune soon found himself on an airship to Patch. Jaune went to grab his swords and belt from his dorm and to tell his team where he was going, but they already knew. Apparently, Yang and Ruby had told the others about this little family reunion throughout the week and already knew where they were going. He was sitting between the two sisters and Zwei was sitting by his feet, scratching his leg to get his attention, with little effect. Saying he was nervous would be an understatement. His foot tapping repeatedly was a clear giveaway of that. "Are you okay, Jaune?" Ruby asked him.

Jaune turned to her and tried to put his best smile on for her, "Yeah, I'm fine, Rosebud."

"You don't seem fine." Yang said teasingly but with some concern. "You're not nervous, are you?"

Jaune turned to her, "Me, nervous? What do I have to be nervous about? I'm just meeting your father. He'll probably be a great guy... until he finds out I'm dating both of his daughters and that I'm also dating the rest of your team and my partner." He chuckled weakly before he slumped forward to place his face in his hands and groaned. "I'm so dead."

Yang started to slowly rub his back to comfort him, "Things will work out, Jauney. We can just leave out the part where you are dating the rest of our merry band and deal with that later." She said with a smile.

Ruby leant over and gently hugged him, "She's right. Dad is protective but once he gets to know you, he'll love you almost as much as we do." She said with her usual smile.

Jaune took his hands away from his face and looked at both of them. He then sighed, "I'm not sure about that one, Ruby, but I'll do it." He had a small smile as he sat up. Ruby was still hugging him so he just wrapped his right arm around her to hold her close. He then wrapped his left arm around Yang and did the same. "I said I'd do whatever to prove I'm worthy of your love, so it's not like I can go back on my word." The two smiled at him with that. Yang started to hug him like her sister and they both kissed his cheeks. Jaune chuckled and the three just laughed when Zwei jumped in his lap before curling up to fall asleep. They then just relaxed for the rest of the trip.

They arrived an hour or so later and Jaune had to admit it, Patch was indeed beautiful. It was quiet and peaceful. The forest that they were walking through to the girls' house was beautiful with the leaves the usual colors of autumn. Ruby was walking in front of him with Zwei walking beside her, she was telling him about all the good times she had here as a child. While Yang was walking right beside him and holding his hand. They soon arrived at a decent sized cabin and Jaune unconsciously gulped. Yang just gave his hand a brief squeeze. He turned to her and she just had a smile, "Relax, Hero."

He looked her in the eyes before he calmed and nodded. They soon made the rest of the way to the house. When they were close to the door, a man walked out that looked a lot like Yang. Jaune then knew this was Taiyang Xiao Long, he heard enough about him from his girlfriends and a few stories from Qrow. He stood with his arms open and a huge smile on his face, "Ruby!" he shouted and Ruby used her Semblance to get to him before he wrapped her in a bear hug. The scene made Jaune smile. The two separated and he looked to his elder daughter and Jaune. He looked confused but it was soon gone with a smile. "Yang, give your dad a hug!" Yang smiled before he let go of Jaune's hand and made her way over to Taiyang to share a hug. The three then started talking and Jaune just stood back and let them have their moment. His mind started to think about his family and his heart clenched. It had probably been over a year, maybe two since he saw them in person and seeing this heartwarming scene made his heart heavy.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Taiyang speak up, "So, girls, who exactly is this?" He came back to reality to see Taiyang looking over at him.

He unconsciously cleared his throat before he walked over with his hand out. "I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc, I'm the leader of Team JNPR, the sister team of your daughters' team."

Taiyang looked him over before shaking his hand. "Right, they mentioned you in their letters. Nice to meet you, but that's not all you are though." He said with a protective tone to his voice. Jaune stiffened slightly. "I saw you holding Yang's hand. So, are you dating my daughter?" He asked while staring into his eyes with a cold look.

Jaune took a deep breath but didn't turn away. "In a way, sir." He looked confused. "I'm dating both Ruby and Yang."

Taiyang's confused expression shifted to one of disbelief then anger. He let go of his hand before grabbing the collar of his shirt. Ruby and Yang were stunned, they weren't expecting Jaune to just come out and say that. "You have five seconds to explain why I shouldn't break you for taking advantage of my daughters."

Jaune didn't break eye contact, "I didn't take advantage of them. I fell in love with both of your daughters and I wasn't going to tell them because I didn't wanna hurt either of them by choosing the other. They found out and they agreed to try this out. Besides, both your daughters are too smart to be taken advantage of and even if I did, Yang would break me in half for doing that."

Taiyang was quiet for a while, taking in what he was saying. "You have a point, but I know that love can blind people from their better judgement. Tell me, what would you do if I said you had to break up with them or I would break _you_?"

Yang and Ruby were further shocked by this but couldn't say anything. Jaune's eyes widened before he narrowed them. "I would let you break me." He said and that shocked all of them. "Ruby and Yang mean more to me than I could ever explain. They saved me from myself and I swore that every day I would prove myself worthy of their love and I always keep my word. Besides, I'm no stranger to pain."

The two blondes just stared each other down. The two girls were standing on the sidelines, not sure what to do. Soon Taiyang closed his eyes before a small smile appeared on his face. He opened his eyes and let go of his shirt. "You got guts, Jaune. And I could tell that you meant every word you said, your eyes don't lie. I'm not going to say I approve of this but if you make my girls happy then I'll give you a chance." He pointed his finger at him. "But if you ever hurt them, I will break you."

Jaune just took a second to take it all in before he had his own small smile, "Trust me, if I hurt them you won't have to worry about that. I'll break myself."

The two shared a small laugh before Ruby tackled Jaune to the ground and hugging him close. Yang walked over and helped them up before she joined in the hug. Jaune enjoyed the hug until he couldn't breathe. Taiyang chuckled at this but he had to admit, he never saw his girls that happy before. They all went in the house after that. Taiyang took the opportunity to get to know Jaune while also telling some embarrassing stories about his daughters. By the time he went to make dinner, both his daughters were blushing and Jaune was trying not to laugh due to the glare from Yang and the pleading look from Ruby.

After dinner, they all just sat down and watched some television. Ruby and Yang sat with Jaune on the couch. Taiyang kept a careful watch on the three. He saw that Ruby sat herself down in Jaune's lap and Yang forced him to wrap his arm around her so she could sit closer to him. The father in him wasn't too happy about that; but he also saw a lot of Raven and Summer in his daughters and how they showed affection, so he gave them a pass this once.

Soon they all decided to go to bed and Jaune took the couch. Before his girlfriends went up to their rooms, they both gave him a kiss. Also, both told him to sneak into Yang's room and the three could cuddle. Jaune instantly told them no. Mostly because he didn't want to get killed. They pouted but agreed. Jaune wished them good night before he laid down on the couch to fall asleep. He smiled just before falling asleep, 'Today wasn't as bad as I thought.'

* * *

Jaune woke up a few hour later from another nightmare. This one was similar to the older ones but was different. He was standing in a wasteland surrounded by Grimm. He was in the middle while Ruby was a hundred feet from him on his right fighting her own Grimm and Yang was a hundred from his left doing the same. They were holding them off until two Death Stalkers came out of nowhere and were going directly to them. There were too many Grimm for them to escape and Jaune was left with a choice: Which would he save and which one would die? It was impossible for him to choose and he was forced to watch them both die.

"Damnit." Was all he said as he stood up. He put on his hoodie and boots before grabbing his swords. He walked out of the house and into a clearing not far from the side of the house. He stood there with his eyes closed. He took a deep breath of the cold air before he reflexively drew Raikiri. He then started to go through his sword swings he learned to practice from his two teachers. This would usually calm him but his mind kept going back to the dream and he was getting angry. He soon drew Dokiri and started to run through his dual wielding stances. His anger kept rising and his stances soon devolved into him fighting imaginary enemies. He wasn't hallucinating but his mind was simulating enemies for him to fight, a tactic he learned from Gin for impromptu training. He was soon displaying his full capabilities with his swords. Jaune just kept fighting for an hour until he was doubled over and breathing raggedly.

He was roused when he heard clapping from the house. He turned to see Taiyang sitting on the steps. "Impressive swordsmanship." Was all he said as he held up a water bottle for him.

Jaune had a small smile before sheathing his swords and walking over. He took the bottle as he sat down next to him. "Thank you." He started to drain the water bottle. "Learned everything from my master and Qrow."

Taiyang looked over to him with a raised eyebrow, "So you're that blonde kid Qrow trained." Jaune nodded. There was a silence for a while before Taiyang broke it. "So, why are you training in the middle of the night?"

Jaune shrugged, "Couldn't sleep." Was all he said as he drank the rest of his water.

Taiyang rolled his eyes, "Obviously but why couldn't you sleep?"

Jaune was quiet for a while until he explained, "Just a nightmare."

"You sound like this is a reoccurring thing." Jaune was silent and wasn't going to elaborate further. Taiyang sighed, "Look, Jaune, sometimes it's easier to talk to someone who doesn't know much about you. Plus, I'm a teacher so I know how to listen."

Jaune was quiet but turned to him with an almost pleading look, "If I do, don't tell the girls. Please."

Taiyang was confused, "Why?"

"They worry enough about me and have their own problems. I don't want them to worry more about this. So please, don't tell them." Jaune pleaded.

Taiyang looked at him before he nodded, "Alright."

Jaune looked out across the yard with that. He took a deep breath. "They already know this, but when I was six I had my aura unlocked. My younger sisters were about to be attacked by an Alpha Beowolf and I jumped in front to protect them. My dad had to unlock my aura to save me. But from that day on for three years, I had nightmares every night about that day. And what could've happened."

"You had nightmares about you dying?" Taiyang hazarded a guess.

Jaune shook his head, "No. I dreamt that I couldn't save them and was powerless to do anything besides watch that monster tear my sisters apart."

Taiyang's eyes widened. 'This kid had nightmares like that when he was only six and for three years after?' he thought.

Jaune lowered his head to look down at the ground. "I would wake up every night crying. Thinking that I had failed my little sisters. I would then get out of bed and go to my sister's room. Just to make sure they were alive, that I didn't fail them. Sometimes I would just sit by their beds and just watch them sleep, to be sure that them being alive wasn't just me dreaming." He chuckled weakly. "Once or twice my sister Olive would wake up and ask me if I was okay. I would tell her I was fine and that I was just checking on them. She would just go back to sleep afterwards."

He shook his head slightly, "I guess I started to yell in my sleep as time went on and I would wake up to Olive shaking me. I would hold her close and just thank Oum she was alive." He started to shake slightly. "Some nights, she would refuse to leave me and she would stay in my bed until morning. Having her close allowed me to sleep peacefully, knowing she was alive and safe." Jaune took a deep breath before continuing. "Ever since then, I have nightmares about me failing to protect the people I care for and them dying. And all I can do is watch." He was quiet until he decided to give the last detail. "I had to watch Ruby and Yang die with this latest one." He said weakly.

Taiyang just looked at Jaune. 'This kid has had this weight on him all this time and has never told anyone. Damn, he must have one strong will or he is just stupid.' He thought. "Why haven't you told anyone?"

Jaune just shook his head, "Too many people depend on me. I need to be strong."

Taiyang placed a hand on his shoulder and Jaune turned to him. "I can understand that but you can't keep doing this to yourself. You may be strong but this could break you. Then what will those people you care about do? Especially, Yang and Ruby." Jaune just turned away, not wanting to answer. "Somethings you can't do on your own. You need to let people in." Jaune nodded hesitantly. Taiyang stood up and looked at him. "You're a good kid, Jaune, but you need to lean on the people you care about from time to time."

Eventually, Jaune turned to him and had a look that was like he had a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. "Thank you, Mr. Xiao Long."

Taiyang smiled, "Call me, Taiyang or Tai. You should get some sleep, we got a big day ahead of us tomorrow." Jaune nodded but stayed sitting for a bit. Taiyang went back inside and saw Yang leaning next to the door with her hand over her mouth and a shocked expression on her face. Taiyang hugged her before whispering to her, "If you want him to stay as the guy you love, you need to be there for him if and when he starts to break, understand?" Yang hugged him back and nodded. Taiyang smiled and kissed the top of her head, "That's my Sunny Little Dragon." He let her go before going to his room to sleep. Yang looked out the door at Jaune before she went to the couch and sat down.

Jaune walked in a few minutes later. He took off his swords, hoodie and boots before walking to the couch. He was shocked to find Yang there. "Uh, what are you doing up?"

Yang just stood up before wrapping him in a hug. She kissed him lovingly before guiding him to the couch. They laid down and she was still holding him. She then whispered, "I love you, Jaune, and you'll never fail us. Understand?" Jaune's eyes widened before he buried his head into her shoulder and pulled her close. His only answer was a nod. They both just fell asleep holding the other.

The two were woken up the next morning by Ruby. Luckily for them, Taiyang wasn't up yet so he didn't see them. Once he was up, they had breakfast before they all left. They were going 'somewhere special' as Ruby was saying. He didn't question it, since Ruby didn't seem like she wanted to talk about it. After about an hour hike, they arrived at a cliff that had a gorgeous view. Jaune was in awe until Ruby gently took his hand. He looked to her and she had a sad smile. "Join me?" she asked. He nodded and the two slowly walked towards the cliff, holding hands. They soon reached a gravestone which read: Summer Rose – Thus Kindly I Scatter. Jaune's eyes widened and he looked to Ruby. "I wanted you to meet my Mom."

Jaune squeezed her hand gently, "I'm here, Rosebud."

She nodded, "Hey, Mom. Sorry I haven't come by in a while. Things have been…. well, things have been pretty busy. Oh, Dad and Yang are here too." Ruby then started to tell her mother about her father still teaching at Signal and going to start going on missions soon. That she hadn't gotten kicked out of Beacon yet. How she is enjoying being on Team RWBY with Weiss, Blake and Yang.

"You're probably wondering who this is with me. Well, this is my boyfriend, Jaune Arc. He's really nice. He treats me so right and is so great to everyone. He's also really strong and an amazing fighter. Plus, his weapons are so cool and he makes some of the best cookies ever. Also, Ozpin let him in just like me, so we have that in common too. He's also dating Yang, as well. Dad took it pretty well and is giving us a chance. I think you'd like him, Mom." She said with a small smile.

Jaune had his own smile, "It's nice to meet you. Ruby talks about you a lot. I'm not sure how you feel about this arrangement but I can tell you, I am treating your daughters the best that I can. I'm treating them with nothing but love and respect. They're amazing girls, you're probably proud of them." He stopped for a second, "Oh, wait. I have a 'gift'." Ruby looked confused at his. He touched his water clips and as his eyes shifted to that darker blue, he used his left hand to condense a good amount of water out of the air. He then used it to clean the gravestone to make it look brand new. He then let the water sink into the ground. "I know it's not much but I hope it's enough."

Ruby squeezed his hand and smiled at him, "I'm sure she appreciates it, Jaune." Ruby started to tell her how she made a bunch of new friends and met some odd teachers. How they stopped some bad guys and she was 'like mother, like daughter.' She wondered why Ozpin let her in early but guessed he'll tell her later. She also said that Ozpin acts a lot like Qrow. "Well, I think we should go, Mom. Dad's dropping us off at Beacon for the tournament match before he goes on his next mission. Wish us luck!" She starts to walk away but turns back, "It was good to talk."

Ruby was starting to pull Jaune away with her but he stopped her. She looked at him confused, "Can I have a minute, Ruby?"

She nodded after a second, "Sure, Jaune." She let go of his hand and started to walk back to her family.

Jaune turned back around to Summer's gravestone before he knelt on one knee and bowed his head, "I can guess you probably worry about those two. But I promise you, as long as I breathe I will protect them. No matter what." He opened his eyes and saw a white rose petal land on his hand. He took it between his fingers and was dumbfounded on how it got there. He then looked back to the gravestone and smiled. He rose to his feet and was about to walk away before he turned back, "Thank you for the trust. Maybe somewhere down the line you'll be my in-law." He smiled before he went to rejoin the Xiao Long/Rose family.

They all enjoyed the rest of the day until they had to go to the airfield. The girls said goodbye to their father and he wished them luck. Jaune shook his hand as he whispered, "You better protect my girls."

Jaune just nodded, "With my life." The two nodded and they made their way onto the airship. They all waved to Taiyang as they left before relaxing for the rest of the trip. Jaune still had to explain to Taiyang that he was dating the other three girls but he felt like it was a nice weekend overall. He sighed before thinking, 'Let's hope the other parents are as understanding.'


	66. The Tournament Begins

Jaune stepped off the airship with Yang and Ruby, while Zwei walked besides them. They barely made it off the airship when Jaune was tackled to the ground by bronze, black and white blurs. Jaune groaned and looked to see Pyrrha holding onto his left arm, Blake his right and Weiss on his chest. All three were hugging him tightly. Pyrrha wasn't a surprise at all, she's tackled him before. Blake was a minor surprise; she was just as affectionate, if not more so, than the rest of his girlfriends but usually in private. Weiss was the most shocking though, she was not big on PDAs. He spoke up after a second, "I take it you three missed me." He said with a smirk.

"Of course, we did!" they said in unison before all three kissed him, Blake and Pyrrha kissed the cheek they were near while Weiss gave him a loving kiss. He returned it before they all got off him. Once Jaune was standing, he gave each of them a hug and gave Blake and Pyrrha loving kisses. Jaune then felt a familiar weight on his back and turned to see his honorary sister on his back. "I missed you too, Fearless Leader! How did it go with Yang and Ruby's dad?"

Jaune smiled and gently ruffled her hair, "It went a bit better than expected." He turned to see that Ren had walked up to their group. "Taiyang wasn't exactly happy about me dating both his daughters but we came to an understanding. He'll give this a chance but he doesn't approve. Also, we decided that we shouldn't tell him about me dating you three until he's more warmed up to me." They all nodded at that. He then sighed, "I doubt your parents are going to be as understanding though." The three had sheepish or bashful expressions before turning away. Jaune and the others chuckled at that.

Pyrrha looked at him, "Jaune, do you think we could work on finishing that combo move we've been working on? The tournament is tomorrow and it may be useful."

Jaune just nodded, "Sure. We've pretty much perfected it anyways."

Ruby looked up at him, "You guys are working on a second combo? What's wrong with Arkos?"

Jaune looked back to her, "Nothing's wrong with it. It's just involves Pyrrha showcasing her Semblance a bit too much. We decided to work on a new one for when we have to fight in spars or tournament fights, instead of fighting Grimm or real fights."

Ruby nodded before she got an idea, "Can we work on a combo move? It'd be so cool for the leaders of two teams to have a combo!"

Jaune smirked, "Sure, why not. We can work on that after me and Pyrrha are done." Ruby jumped up and hugged him and Jaune was struggling not to tip over with her and Nora's added weight. He saw that WBY looked left out. He smirked, "You girls wanna work on combos too?" They all went wide eyes before they jumped on him as well. That did send them to the ground and they all laughed. More so when Pyrrha jumped on top of all of them, wanting to be part of the laughing dogpile. Ren just facepalmed with a sigh and a small smile.

The two teams spent the rest of the day in the training rooms. Pyrrha and Jaune finished perfecting the variant version of Arkos. During that time, Ren and Nora were training while RWBY were off training with their partners. Afterwards, Pyrrha went off with Nora and Ren to train for a bit, while Jaune started to work on combos with RWBY. The partner of each girl would help pitch ideas for them while they were working on them. By the end of the day. Jaune had a combo for each member of RWBY, not perfect but they would come in handy in a pinch. They ate dinner before they all just relaxed together. They all wanted to enjoy the calm before the hectic events of the festival tomorrow. Eventually though, Jaune had to say good night to RWBY, giving each girl a loving good night kiss. He went to his room to change into his nightwear before heading to bed as well. Pyrrha crawled in shortly afterwards and they cuddled as they fell asleep. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.

* * *

The Vytal Festival was in full swing. Jaune was amazed by all the people who showed up and was slightly disappointed that he didn't see his family yet. Although, it was still early and only the first day so there was still plenty of time. RWBY and JNPR were excited, both teams found out that their matches would be today and both were amped up for it. Nora almost literally.

It was soon time for the matches to start and JNPR went up to their seats to watch RWBY fight. That was after Jaune gave each one of his girls a good luck kiss. They all thoroughly approved. JNPR were soon sitting in the special area for fighters to sit during the tournament and were sitting next to Team SSSN. Pyrrha sat next to Jaune and the two held hands as they sat together. Jaune enjoyed the fights along with the commentary from Oobleck and Port, honestly the two made a great combo. But he was still a bit worried for his girlfriends when their match started, even if they could kick ass as well as him, he was still worried for them nonetheless. That nervousness was soon dashed when he saw the nearly flawless combos and teamwork of the team. He soon smirked before a full-blown smile was on his face. He was eventually standing and cheering more than anyone else. His team and SSSN just smiled at his display of affection and support. When RWBY was declared the winners, he was whistling while shouting, "That's how it's done! GO RWBY!"

He was soon elbowed in the ribs and turned to see Nora giving him a teasing grin. Jaune scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I apologize for nothing." Was all he said. They all chuckled before JNPR went to go meet up with their sister team. They explored the fairgrounds until they spied them at the noodle stand he went to before, A Simple Wok. They got close enough to hear that Weiss' card was denied and the old man took back the noodles from Blake as she gave a dramatic "Nooo!" Jaune chuckled at that and Pyrrha spoke up, "Maybe I could help?"

Ruby turned to her with a big smile, "Pyrrha!" she said happily before she saw Jaune. "Jaune!" she said with more excitement.

Jaune was prepared this time. He bent his knees and took a half step to his left. When she flew at him with her Semblance, she caught his inner right elbow, not his chest. Jaune then used her momentum to spin them and pull her to his chest. When they were facing the direction they started in, Jaune squeezed the reaper close and smirked down at her. "Not this time, Rosebud." She pouted before she kissed him which he returned. They pulled apart and Jaune still held her, "Mind if we join you?"

"Do you even have to ask?" she said before Jaune walked over and placed her back in her seat before he took his own seat on the other side of Yang, around the corner with Pyrrha taking the seat next to him. He looked at the old man and smirked. The old man returned it and dashed away before returning Blake's bowl and a bowl for Jaune twice as big as Yang's. He smiled with that. They all stared on in concern.

"Can you eat all that?' Weiss asked.

"Watch me." Was all he said as he dug in as the other members of his team got their bowls. Not long after that, they all pushed their empty bowls away and looked content. Except Weiss, she looked uncomfortably stuffed. Nora burped loudly as the Shopkeeper took the empty bowls. Jaune chuckled before turning to Weiss. "You okay, Snow Angel?"

She nodded, "I will be. What about you? Should you really eat that much before your fight?"

Jaune shrugged, "I'll be using my fire Semblance, that literally burns though calories."

"You're actually going to cut lose?" Yang asked teasingly.

"Well since most of Beacon knows about my fire abilities, I might as well use them. The other elements I'm going to shelf unless I need them." Jaune answered.

"You all sound ready." Ruby spoke up.

"Of course!" Nora shouted. "We've got a world-renowned fighter on our team, one's basically a ninja, I can bench five of me, Jaune, we trained all year, our weapons are awesome, Glynda barely yells at us anymore and did I mention Jaune?" she asked.

"Twice." Ren said easily.

"Well, he is our Fearless Leader." She said with a smile.

Jaune chuckled. "Plus, I'm every natural disaster in a blonde body."

"That too!" Nora cheered.

"Besides, we should look forward to a fight with actual guidelines, and not, well…. murderers." Pyrrha added.

Jaune's smile fell slightly with that, "Yeah. Murderers." He said crestfallen.

Everyone turned to him with a sad look. Before Pyrrha could try and play crowd control, Yang punched Jaune in the shoulder hard enough to knock him to the ground. He just looked at her annoyed and she stared down at him. The two were staring each other down; Yang's saying, 'You are not a murderer.' and Jaune's saying, 'You know I am.' Jaune eventually closed his eyes and sighed, "Fine. You win." He said as he stood up and as he did, Yang grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him close to give him the most loving kiss she could muster. Jaune returned it. They pulled apart and they just smiled at each other.

They were interrupted when they heard Port calling their team to the battlegrounds and Oobleck adding how late they were. "Wish us luck." Jaune said with his usual smile. Blake and Weiss gave him good luck kisses before he led his team away.

* * *

JNPR soon found themselves standing in the arena, across from their opponents. They all had their weapons ready. Jaune drew Kakiri and his eyes had shifted to red. Port then announced, "Team JNPR of Beacon versus Team BRNZ of Shade!" They all got into their battle positions as the randomization process was happening. The fields were selected: the forest field positioned behind BRNZ and the mountain field was positioned behind JNPR. Port then continued, "Three, two, one, begin!"

"Let's do this!" Jaune shouted as he charged forward. JNPR charged towards the BRN of BRNZ as May Zedong started to run into the trees. Brawnz Ni started to fight with Pyrrha, while Ren and Nora started to fight Nolan Porfirio. Leaving Jaune to deal with Roy Stallion. Jaune was overpowering Roy, until bullets started to fly and he realized that it was May using her sniper rifle. Jaune kicked Roy away with his enhanced strength, "Retreat!" he shouted. As they were running, he slashed his sword horizontally and a firewall was created between BRNZ and JNPR.

JNPR got behind some rocks at the base of the mountain as cover and Jaune observed the battlefield. The firewall went down and BRN was running towards them. "You deal with them. I got the sniper." He crouched and used his fire and aura to launch himself into the air. At the height of his jump, Jaune started to channel fire into his blade. He heard gunfire and felt a bullet fly past him. He had no time to defend himself, he was too busy charging his attack. A few more bullets came towards him and would've hit him in the chest and arms, if it wasn't for three softball sized fire shields forming where the bullets would impact and block the shots. Jaune's eyebrows raised curiously, 'What the hell was that?' he thought before shelving that for later. He swung his blade and sent a giant stream of fire towards the trees he guessed May was in.

May was shocked that her bullets did nothing but soon panicked when she saw the inferno coming after her. She quickly jumped away from the tree she was in before it and a few trees around it were engulfed in flames.

As Jaune was falling he saw that Roy and Brawnz were teaming up on Pyrrha. He angled himself at Roy and used his fire to fly towards him. Roy saw him and quickly rolled out of the way as Jaune landed a two-handed strike to where he was standing, leaving a decent sized crater.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ren and Nora were fighting against Nolan. Nolan was able to give Ren a run for his money and managed to hit him with his cattle prod. Ren fell to the ground, stunned. "Ren!" Nora shouted before deciding to take revenge on Nolan. She started to swing Magnhild at Nolan but he was able to dodge her swings and hit her in the stomach with his cattle prod. Nolan smirked until he saw the manic smile on Nora's face.

"Oh-ho! Looks like one of my favorite students is charging up to use her Semblance!" Port announced.

"What?" Nolan asked confused.

Oobleck continued where his colleague left off, "Yes, Ms. Valkyrie's Semblance lets her produce, as well as channel, electrical energy straight to her muscles! This allows her to jump explosively into the air, wield her mighty hammer, or in this case, absorb Nolan's attacks and send the young man flying!"

"What!?" he shouted in fear before he pulled his weapon away but he was too late. Nora was sparking with energy at this point and swung at Nolan as hard as she could. This sent him flying and crashing through a boulder.

* * *

Jaune notices that dark clouds, crackling with energy, were appearing at the top of the mountain on their side. He got an idea and turned to his honorary sister. "Nora! The mountain!"

Nora saluted with her manic smile, "You got it!" Was all she said as she ran towards the mountain and started to climb.

Bullets started flying again and Jaune turned his attention to his brother. "Ren! Take care of the sniper!"

Ren barely managed to dodge another shot before he sighed, "Sure. Why not."

Jaune gave Pyrrha a look and the three of them started to charge towards BRN. Roy threw his buzz saws at Jaune but he managed to deflect them with his blade. Roy was able to reattach them before bashing them against Pyrrha's shield. Jaune instantly sent a fireball at Roy, who jumped back to avoid it. Jaune stood back-to-back with Pyrrha and the two started to fight in sync against Brawnz and Roy.

Ren was dodging May's shots and was close to her new position but he was intercepted by Nolan. The two started to fight again but Ren knew what to expect and eventually had him in a choke hold, using Stormflower's blades to hold his cattle prod against his neck. Ren then saw May aim at Nora. He turned in panic and shouted, "Nora!"

* * *

Jaune manages to block Brawnz claws and kicked him back. "Arkos!" he shouted. He drew Dokiri with his left hand and stabbed it into the ground. This caused six earth columns to erupt around the four of them. Pyrrha threw Akouo at the column and it started to rebound from on to the other, Pyrrha was using her Semblance to keep its momentum going. Brawnz and Roy now had to avoid the rebounding shield along with Pyrrha's slashes and Jaune's dual wielding. Brawnz lost a quarter of his aura while Roy lost a third before Pyrrha recalled her shield and jumped up with Jaune. Jaune swung Dokiri and the columns exploded inward, hitting the two with rock shrapnel, dropping the two to half aura.

Jaune and Pyrrha landed but they couldn't enjoy the successful combo because they soon heard a gunshot and Nora scream. They turned and saw Nora fall off the mountain. Jaune sheathed Dokiri and held his hand out to his girlfriend as he shook his shock off. "Pyr!" She shook herself and quickly grabbed his hand. He then threw her and she managed to catch her. Pyrrha stabbed Milo into the mountain to slow their descent and quickly got behind cover.

Jaune then turned to Ren, "Ren, pull!" Ren didn't need any other request. He flipped Nolan into the air before hitting him in the stomach with an aura palm as he came back down. He went flying towards Jaune who used his strength to kick him into his teammates. Now all three were around half aura or below. Ren started to run towards Jaune, "Get to Nora! I got this!" Ren nodded and ran past him to meet up with his teammates.

Jaune could feel his anger fueling his fire Semblance, practically pushing it to Stage Two but he got another idea and smirked evilly. "I think it's time I take their advice and cut lose." He sheathed Kakiri as Brawnz, Nolan and Roy stood in front of him and he could feel May's crosshairs on his chest.

"You give up?" Brawnz asked in an aggressive tone.

Jaune smiled with a manic smile. "No." he replied simply as his sheathes rotated over to his right shoulder and he drew Raikiri and his eyes shifted to yellow.

* * *

Ren slid behind cover with his two female teammates. Pyrrha had her back against the rock and held Nora close. "Nora, are you okay?" he asked in a panic.

Nora nodded as she sat up, "Yeah. But that sucked."

Ren sighed at that, "What about Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.

Ren shrugged and they looked over the rock in time to see him drawing Raikiri and they all had a good idea what he had planned. "See, this is why he is the best Big Brother ever!" Nora said cheerfully. The other two nodded before aiming their weapons towards the direction of BRN, in case he needed covering fire.

* * *

As soon as he drew Raikiri, he heard a bullet come flying at him. It would've hit him in the chest, if not for the electricity surging through his chest and deflecting it. BRNZ was confused and all the audience. "Huh, should really get to the bottom of that." Jaune spoke up and BRN quickly charged him, until his yellow aura erupted off him. They stopped and Jaune spun and sent an arc of yellow lightning, from his sword, into the clouds above the mountain, shifting its energy to yellow.

"He missed?" asked Nolan, confused.

Jaune chuckled before turning back to them with his right eye glowing yellow and yellow flames surrounding the eye itself, stunning BRN. "Nope." He pointed his blade at May's position and a giant arc of lightning shot out of the clouds and hit her tree. Everyone heard her scream and her fall from her tree with the buzzer sounding she was out of aura.

BRN was stunned and turned to Jaune to see he was gone. Jaune then appeared on their right in a burst of lightning, then their left and finally back in his starting position. He kept appearing and disappearing, until it looked like he was in three places at once due to his Stage Two lightning amplifying his speed even further.

The whole audience was shocked by this. Soon Port chimed in, "Amazing! I never knew my favorite student could do that!"

"I agree with you, Peter! Mr. Arc has always held back on his Semblance but with what happened to Ms. Valkyrie, he must be showing off all his skills! Let's sit back and watch the show!"

Brawnz finally had enough, "Charge him!" Brawnz charged the front 'Jaune' while Roy charged the one on their left and Nolan took the one on their right. As they were about to make contact, the 'Jaunes' disappeared and Jaune appeared behind Nolan.

"Looking for me?" he asked and Nolan spun with his cattle prod. Jaune caught the tip with his left hand and the electricity it was giving off was doing nothing. "Wrong move." He said with a smile as the electricity turned yellow and Jaune turned it against Nolan. He screamed in pain before he fell to the ground unconscious and the buzzer went off.

Roy quickly sent his saws at Jaune as he was facing the opposite direction. Jaune dodged the first and deflected the second with his sword before surging towards him. He stopped in front of him and started to assault him a flurry of lightning fast, electrical punches and kicks. He then started to run between Brawnz and Roy and assaulting them both. He finished the combo when he jumped back and charging his fist with enough electricity to turn his fists yellow, before slamming each fist into one of the remaining members of BRNZ. That sent the two of them flying out of the ring.

Jaune sheathed Raikiri before he discharged his Semblance and doubled over to breathe. After a moment or two of silence, Port broke the silence. "And with that impressive display, Team JNPR wins! Can someone go make sure they're okay?"

The whole arena went crazy with that and Jaune stood up stunned. People were cheering for him. Not shouting at him in fear or hatred. It was an odd feeling but one he enjoyed. He smiled and was soon tackled by Nora. She gave him a bear hug, "That was awesome, Jaune! I can't believe you did that for me!" She said happily.

Jaune just smiled and hugged her back, "Of course. You know I'd do anything for my sisters. That includes you." Her smile somehow got bigger with that and she hugged him tighter. "Nora, can't breathe." He gasped out and she dropped her Fearless Leader to the ground. With that JNPR laughed and just celebrated their win and their friends cheered for them in the stands.

* * *

Cinder was watching the entire fight with interest and was surprised to say the least. "So, he can control water, fire and lightning. And almost at the extent of a Maiden, very interesting. Plus, there was the energy he used against the Grimm at the Breach. I wonder what else you can do, my dear Jaune?" She had a grin with that. One that was unsettling to see. Cinder would have to figure out what to do about Jaune Arc and it was not going to be good for him. Or someone he loved.

* * *

 **A/N- Sorry for the lack of an update for this. I haven't felt motivated as usual to write and I didn't want to post a sub-par chapter for TES or Distortion. So, instead I wrote a one-shot, Jaune's Inferno, give it a look if you haven't. That would mean a lot. Also, TES is so close to reaching 1k favorites! Here's hoping it breaks it soon. Also, Muhd Adib made a good point in the reviews. I feel like TES needs an image/poster. If any of you could do that, PM me and I'll use it. With that done the only thing left to say is, I'll update this as soon as I can. Catch you all in the next update.**


	67. Family Reunions

JNPR made their way from the arena back up to their seats in the reserved area. They wished Team SSSN luck as they went to the arena and they took their seats next to RWBY. The girls offered their congratulations and they accepted. Jaune took the empty seat next to Yang and Pyrrha sat on his other side. Both girls rested their heads on his shoulders and Jaune just smiled at them. Ruby, Weiss and Blake had jealous looks but decided to just watch the fights, they would have time later.

Team SSSN did fairly well against Team NDGO, although Neptune was more of a liability, if Jaune was being honest. After all the fights were done, JNPR and BY left to explore the fairgrounds for a bit. Weiss and Ruby took off somewhere, right after the fights were done. No one was worried though, those two could handle themselves. They wanted to unwind before they went back to Beacon; they were just looking around when Jaune felt something tug on his sleeve. He looked to see a young boy, maybe seven or eight, looking up at him in awe. Jaune looked at him with a smile, "Hello. Are you lost?"

The boy just shook his head, "No, Mister, I was just curious if you were the Elemental Swordsman? But you are, this is so cool!" he said excitedly.

Jaune raised his eyebrow, "Elemental Swordsman?"

The boy quickly nodded his head, "That's what everyone's been calling you after your fight."

Jaune thought for a bit, "Huh, has a nice ring to it." He said with a grin.

"Hey, Mister, can you tell me how'd you get so strong? I wanna be a Huntsman like you someday." He said.

Jaune just knelt to look him in the eyes, "What's your name, kid?"

"Onyx." He said.

"Well, Onyx, to get strong you just need to train. To push yourself every day and improve as much as you can. But, I have a secret. Can I trust you with it?" He asked and the boy nodded quickly. Jaune nodded, "Do you have people you love and care about? People you want to stay safe?"

Onyx was confused but nodded, "Yeah. I have my mom and dad and sister. Plus, all my friends."

Jaune smiled at that, "Then you will be able to grow very strong. When you train for yourself, you will reach a limit. But, if you want strength to protect those you love, then there is no limit to how strong you can get." Jaune gently pointed his finger to the kid's heart. "The strength from the heart is greater than anything else in this world. Understand?" Onyx looked at him with huge eyes and nodded with a huge smile. Jaune chuckled and ruffled his hair gently, "Now, go be those people you wanna protect." Onyx nodded and ran to where his parents and sister were.

Jaune stared off at him and watched the happy family with a small smile. He sighed and stood up and turned to see his girlfriends and honorary siblings smiling at him. "What?" he asked.

Pyrrha was the one to answer. She wrapped her arm around his right one and kissed his cheek, "I knew you had the potential to be a good dad."

Yang did the same with his other arm, "Yeah, Jauney. Who knew you were so good with kids?" She said with a smile before kissing his cheek as well.

Jaune smiled and Blake just walked up to him and gave him a light kiss with a smile. They soon all made their way back to Beacon. But when they got there, they saw a crowd of people in the courtyard. They could also hear the sounds of people fighting, the sound of metal scrapping against metal and gunshots. Jaune ran over, curious on what exactly was going on. When he got to the front of the crowd, he saw a familiar man wearing a dress shirt and cape with a giant sword. "Qrow?" he asked out loud. He looked across to his opponent. She looked like someone from Atlas military. She seemed familiar with her white hair and light blue eyes. But he soon realized who she was when a Glyph appeared behind her. His eyes widened, "Could that be Winter?" He looked back at Qrow and saw his sword was starting to shift into its scythe mode.

"Oum damnit!" Jaune shouted before using his aura to jump into the air. A few people saw him but the fighters didn't. He grabbed his earth clips lefthanded and as his eyes shifted to brown, he came down and landed with his fist. Instantly, a six-foot stone wall erupted under him and spread out a good five feet to stop the fight. Both fighters were stunned and lost concentration on what they were doing. Jaune stood tall with his hands in his pockets before he spoke up, "Really, Qrow? Just got here and already starting problems?" He said with a smirk.

Qrow squinted at him before they widened in realization. "Kid? Is that you?" He asked.

Jaune rolled his eyes playfully. "What other blonde do you know can do this?" he asked. At that he tapped his foot onto the wall and it slowly sank into the ground. When he was close enough to the ground, he stepped off and walked over to Qrow. Qrow but his sword away and held his hand to Jaune with a smile. Jaune smiled and shook his hand before the two moved to a bro hug, "Good to see you, Qrow."

"Likewise, Kid." They pulled back from the hug and Qrow gave him an appraising look. "You look different. You don't look like the world kicked you in the gut. So, what changed?"

Jaune smirked, "Special people."

Qrow smirked, "Oh, really. Anything not PG?"

Before Jaune could speak, they were interrupted by a scream, "Uncle Qrow!" Ruby jumped onto her uncle's arm and he lifted her with her legs dangling. "Hi. It's so good to see you! Did you miss me? Did you miss me!?"

Qrow just looked at her until he grinned, "Nope." He then patted her head affectionately.

"Well, there is one of the special people." Jaune smirked and Qrow looked at him surprised.

Ruby let go of his arm and stood in front of him, "Why didn't you tell me you trained Jaune too? I thought I was your super cool apprentice." She pouted.

Jaune chuckled and ruffled her hair, "Well now, you're the super adorable one and I'll be the super cool one." Jaune teased.

Ruby gave him a halfhearted glare, "Do you wanna settle this?"

Jaune just smirked more, "Oh, please. You know I'd win." She was about to argue when he got a devious smirk, "I cheat. Remember?" Ruby understood what he meant and she blushed as red as her cloak. Jaune pulled her into a hug and gently patted her head.

Qrow just looked at the sight for a bit, "You're dating my niece." He said in a neutral tone. Jaune looked back at him and nodded with a serious look in his eyes. Qrow smirked after a bit, "Good to hear. I gave you my blessing to date my nieces when I trained you, so no problem here."

Ruby looked stunned at this but she wasn't able to speak because she was interrupted, "So, you set us up without our consent? Great uncle." They turned to see Yang walking over with her usual smirk. Blake and the rest of JNPR were a few steps behind her.

Qrow just shrugged, "Hey, he's a hell of a lot better than those punks that wanted to date you." He then smiled at her, "Good to see you, Firecracker."

Yang nodded to him with her own smile, "Good to see you too, Qrow." She then walked over to Jaune and hugged him, "And you were right. He is way better than those jerks." She then kissed his cheek and Jaune smiled.

Qrow looked stunned by this, "I thought you were dating Ruby?"

Jaune looked at him sheepishly, "Actually, I'm kinda dating both of them."

Qrow was just stunned, staring and Jaune was a bit nervous. That was, until he started to chuckle then full on laugh. After he managed to reclaim his breath, he spoke again, "I know I gave you my blessing to date my nieces but I didn't mean at the same time." He chuckled again, "Tai is gonna be pissed."

Jaune scratched the back of his head with that, "Yeah, he really wasn't happy. But he didn't kill me, at least."

When the rest of their teams reached them, Yang and Ruby introduced Blake and Jaune introduced Pyrrha, while Ren and Nora got reacquainted with Qrow. "Jeez, Kid. With all these pretty girls around, I'm surprised your only dating my nieces." He said teasingly. Jaune's eyes shifted to the right and Qrow knew what that meant. He just looked at him in shock, "My Oum, you're not."

Jaune just chuckled nervously, "Actually, I'm dating Blake and Pyrrha too."

Qrow just shook his head in disbelief. "So, is this the Jaune Arc you told me about?" They all turned to see Winter and Weiss walking over. Winter looked cold and calculating while Weiss looked nervous.

Jaune nodded to her. "Yup, I'm Jaune Arc. And you must be Winter." He held his hand out to her, "Weiss has told me a lot about you." He said with a smile.

Winter just looked at his hand before she looked back up at him, "So, why did you interfere in our fight?" she asked coldly.

Jaune but his hand down and looked at her with a deadpanned expression, "You mean, besides stopping a Huntsman and an Atlas Specialist from tearing up the courtyard?" He asked rhetorically. Winter looked away and coughed slightly while Qrow chuckled.

"So, how do you know so much about me? Is that from dating Weiss' teammates?" Winter asked with her professional mask back on.

Jaune looked over to Weiss with his eyebrow raise. Weiss looked at him for a while, nervously. Before she took a deep breath and nodded. Jaune nodded and looked back at Winter, "Actually, it's from dating your sister."

Winter looked stunned and Qrow was too until he started to laugh again. Winter looked like she was going to attack Jaune and her hand was nearing her saber when they were interrupted. "Now, now. Why don't we all calm down and let this end here." They all turned to see Ozpin, Goodwitch and Ironwood walking over.

Winter saluted to her superior. "General Ironwood, sir!"

Ironwood looked at her then Qrow and sighed, "Come along, Winter. We must discuss a few things." Ironwood turned to Ozpin, "We'll be in your office." Ozpin nodded and the General started to walk away. Winter gave one final angry look to Qrow and a slightly less angry look to Jaune before she walked away.

"Why must I always clean up your messes." Goodwitch asked, annoyed at Qrow and Jaune.

Jaune raise his hands in surrender, "I cleaned up my mess."

Goodwitch looked at him and sighed, "And I appreciate that, Mr. Arc, thank you." She then started to clean the courtyard of debris with her Semblance.

"Qrow." Ozpin said aloud. "A word, please."

Qrow nodded and said in just above a whisper, "I think I'm in trouble."

"You did kinda tear up our courtyard." Ruby replied.

"And it would've been worse if I didn't intervene." Jaune added.

"Yeah, I did and you're probably right." He then winked and gave his nieces fist bumps. "Catch ya later, kids." He walked to Jaune and spoke to him, "And we need to catch up."

Jaune nodded but still had a small smile, "I'd like that. But, spend time with your nieces first." He scolded.

Qrow scoffed and walked away, "What're you? My keeper?"

"Fells like it sometimes." Jaune said loud enough for him to hear. After a second or two, Jaune sighed, "That could've gone better."

Weiss gently laid her hand on his shoulder, "I'll talk to Winter later."

Jaune smiled and kissed her forehead. "Thank you, Snow Angel." She smiled at him with that.

"At least Uncle Qrow is okay with this." Ruby said with a smile.

"True but we still need to tell your dad the whole truth. Plus, Weiss', Pyrrha's and Blake's parents." Jaune said before doubling over and sighing, "I'm a deadman."

He then felt all his girlfriends pat his back and he felt slightly better and he gave them a smile. "By the way, Hero, why didn't you tell us Qrow gave you his blessing?" Yang asked.

Jaune shrugged, "Like I mentioned before, I didn't know you two were his nieces at first. Plus, I was still heartbroken when I found out and didn't wanna sabotage our friendships. Also, I was ninety percent sure he was joking when he said that. Or drunk."

Ruby and Yang nodded with that and they started to walk back to Beacon to go to their dorms. They only made it a few feet when Jaune stopped. He had his eyes wide and his whole body was rigid. He just felt a presence he hadn't felt in a longtime. The other's turned to him and looked worried, "Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha asked.

They then heard something running at them and Jaune grinned. He soon spun around and opened his arms wide. A small girl, about a head shorter than Ruby, with dirty blonde hair was flying through the air directly at Jaune. She had he arms extended and was shouting one thing, "Big Brother!"

Jaune wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. His grin turned into a huge smile before he started to laugh as she was hugging him as tightly as she could, "It's good to see you, Marron."

Marron pulled back a bit in his arms. She had a huge smile on her face and her dirty blonde hair was tied into two twin tails. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too. Where is everybody, did you sneak away again?" he asked her accusingly.

She shook her head, "Nope. My Big Brother senses went off and I had no choice but to see you. They know I always find you and they said they'd follow me as quickly as they could." She said happily.

Jaune sighed, "Marron that can be dangerous."

"Maybe. But you'll always protect me, Big Brother." She said with a big smile.

Jaune smiled back at her. He held her with his right arm as his left hand started to tickle her, "You got that right." He said with a huge smile as his little sister started to giggle like crazy.

The others just looked on with big smiles as they saw how happy Jaune and Marron were to be reunited. Soon, Ren and Nora walked over. Marron turned to them with that same smile. "Renny, Nora!" She said happily. "I missed you two."

Ren nodded at her with a stoic smile and Nora held her arms open, "We missed you too! Give your Nora a hug!" Marron's smile fell slightly. She looked form Nora to Jaune and then looked down. Nora saw this and put her arms down, "Don't wanna let go of your Big Brother yet?" She asked with a smile and Marron nodded sheepishly. Nora then jumped onto Jaune to hug them both. "Then I'll just hug you both!" Marron and Nora laughed with that, while Jaune was trying to not tip over with his smile still in place.

Eventually Nora let go and Marron noticed Pyrrha and RWBY. She tried to hide in her brother's arms. "Big brother, who are they?" she asked nervously.

Jaune looked at them with a small smile before turning back to his sister. "They are some very important people to me and I'd like you to meet them. Think you can do that for me?"

She looked at his chest for a while before she nodded and looked him in the eyes. "I'll try."

Jaune smiled and ruffled her hair. He then walked over to his girlfriends, "Girls this is my little sister, Marron." They all waved and said hello. "Marron, this is my partner, Pyrrha Nikos. And this is Team RWBY. Their leader, Ruby Rose, and the other members, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long."

Marron looked at them nervously before looking back to her brother, who was smiling. She took a deep breath and had small smile. "It's nice to meet you all." She said adorably. They all smiled at that. She then turned to Jaune and whispered, although not quiet enough, "They're all so pretty." They all blushed with that.

Jaune chuckled and whispered back, "I know." Which made them blush more. Jaune heard more running and he gently tossed Marron towards Nora. Nora caught her like it was reflex as Jaune spun around again. He had his knees bent and had his arms out wide. Soon, two more blurs hit him: one pink and the other blue, they were slightly taller than Marron but not as tall as Ruby. Jaune slid for a bit before he stopped and looked down with a smile. "Nice try, girls." He looked at his sister in his right arm with a smile, she had pink hair that was styled like Nora's and had a huge smile on her face. "Rose." He then turned to his sister in his left arm, she had blonde tipped electric blue hair that was only down to her neck. She also had a hair clip to keep her bangs to the left side of her face. She had a more subtle smile. "Bleu." He gave them a tight squeeze. "I missed you."

"We missed you too!" The twins said in unison, although Rose was shouting and Bleu was speaking normally.

Jaune looked up when he heard something else. He looked up to see his next sister already in the air. She was as tall as Ruby with shoulder length blonde hair with green chunk highlights. She had her arms out and a huge smile on her face, "Jaune!" she shouted and Jaune just smiled and closed his eyes, accepting his fate. She wrapped her arms around his neck and they all fell to the floor with that. They all laughed at that and the others had to laugh at Jaune being taken down by his little sisters.

When they all calmed down they stood up and got untangled from one another. Jaune gave his green haired sister an actual hug, "How'd they talk you into that, Olive?"

She shook her head, "They didn't. I was just happy to see you."

Jaune chuckled, "Have you been keeping an eye on those two like I asked? I know they are a handful."

Olive pulled away and sighed as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Yes, but they are more than just a handful." The twins responded with a 'Hey!'

Jaune would've continued but he was soon wrapped in a hug from behind and lifted off his feet. "Good to see you, Little Bro!"

Jaune smiled, "You too, Rouge." He gently tapped her arms and she let him down. He turned to face his older sister. She was about Yang's height with similar hair but her's only reach past her shoulders and they were red from the tips to halfway up her hair. She had blue eyes like the rest of the Arcs, as well. She was wearing a red sleeveless hooded shirt, with black fingerless arm warmers that extended to her elbows. She had blue jean shorts over black tights and black boots. She had a quiver of bolts sideways on the back of her belt, positioned so she could reach them with her left hand. Along with that, she had semi-auto rifle holstered on her right leg. "You look good as a Huntress. Surprisingly." He said with a smirk.

She just poked him in the nose. "Don't make me hurt you, Little Bro." she threatened him hollowly with a grin.

"Please don't harm our little brother yet." Said a mature voice.

"Yeah, we just got to see him again." Said a second mature voice.

Jaune smiled more and turned around. "Oh, please. I can handle myself, Big Sis." Walking towards him were two identical looking women: Blanc and Noir. They were his height and had long blonde hair braided in the back of their heads. Noir had a lock of black hair that went the left side of her face and tucked behind her left ear. Blanc had a lock of white hair that went from the right side of her face and tucked behind her right ear. They wore similar clothing as well: black boots, black pants and white long-sleeved shirts. Each had a grey vest with armor sowed on it. Noir had one with black accents and Blanc had white accents. Both had almost the exact weapon. Both had broadswords at their belts, Blanc's on her left and Noir's on her right. Along with a bracer on their arm on the same side as their sword.

When they finally go to him, Jaune wrapped both his eldest sisters in a hug. "Good to see you two again."

They returned the hug and gently rubbed his back. "Same goes for us, Little Brother." They said in unison.

Jaune pulled away and saw his parents standing behind his sisters. He smiled and walked over to his mother. She was wearing simple jeans and shirt. She was still beautiful and had her blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. She was a head shorter than Jaune. Both smiled at each other and Jaune hugged her tightly. "I missed you, Mom. Sorry I haven't been home."

Alexandra just shook her head, "It's okay, Honey. I understand." They pulled away from each other and she gently stroked her son's cheek with a big smile.

Jaune smiled and leaned into his mother's touch. He opened his eyes and turned to his father. He was a few inches taller than Jaune with tanned skin. He had short blonde hair and a goatee that matched. He was buffer than Jaune, but considering the greatsword on his back, that would explain it. He had black boots and pants but a simple white t-shirt. Noah Arc was just staring at his son with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Jaune walked over to his father and stared up at him with determined eyes. "Dad."

Noah nodded to him, "Jaune." The two just stared each other down and that made Pyrrha and RWBY nervous. After what felt like an eternity, the two were fighting back grins and chuckles. Soon they both started to laugh like crazy and the two hugged each other tightly. "I saw your fight. This life suits you, son."

Jaune's eyes widened and he tightened his hold. "Thanks, Dad. That means a lot." The two broke apart and Jaune looked around and sighed. "Alright introductions." After an obscene amount of time, Jaune introduced his family to all of RWBY and Pyrrha.

They were all having light conversation until Rouge was elbowing Jaune with a grin, "So, Little Bro, which one of these lovely ladies are you dating?" she asked teasingly. Jaune blushed and looked away slightly. Rouge's eyes went wide. "Wait, you're really dating one of them? This is so good!"

Jaune sighed and looked to see everyone looking at him expectantly. "Well, um…" Jaune trailed off.

"Oh, he's nervous. That is adorable!" Rouge said. She looked over all the girls one last time. "If I had to guess, it would be the spitfire with the blonde hair. She's hot as hell and would whip you into shape." Yang smirked with that with a light blush on her cheeks.

"Hmmm, I would guess Pyrrha." Blanc said. "She makes the most sense."

"I agree." Noir added. "Being his partner, they would spend the most time together. Plus, romance within a team is very common." Pyrrha was blushing a bit with that.

Olive spoke up next, "I think it would be Blake. She is pretty and she would be able to calm Jaune down. Plus, they have the same taste in literature." Blake blushed at that. 'How did she know that?' she thought to herself.

"You're all wrong!" Rose announced. "Big Bro is dating Ruby! She's adorable and pretty and awesome and there is no way he wouldn't be spoiling her rotten." Ruby pulled up her hood to hide her blushing face.

In contrast to her twin, Bleu spoke up calmly, "I would guess that our Big Brother would be dating Weiss. She's pretty, smart and I feel like the two could have a very nice relationship." Weiss' cheeks had a pink dusting to them now. Bleu turned to Marron. "What do you think, Marron?"

Marron was looking down at the ground and poking her index fingers together. "I don't really know. But, they all seem so nice and I think they would be great big sisters." All the girls blushed with the cuteness of the youngest Arc.

The Arcs turned to Jaune and he sighed while scratching the back of his head nervously, "Well, your all kinda right." They all looked confused besides Alexandra, she had a small smile on her face. "I'm dating all of them."

All the Arcs were shocked by this. Alexandra just smiled at this. She had expected something unusual and she was just happy her only son was happy and in love again. Noah shook off his shock and started to belly laugh, not believing what he just heard and wishing his only son the best. All the sisters just had one thing to say, "What!?" Jaune flinched with that. This was going to be a challenge.


	68. Protector

After the confession, he just gave to his family, he realized something, 'I fucked up!' Especially when he looked at his scandalized sisters all looking at him for answers. He had two options now: Either run from them across Beacon, which would just be a huge hassle in the long run. Or the option he liked. He quickly tapped into his earth Semblance and stomped his foot, creating a rock dome around him. Everyone stared at that until the sisters jumped into action. Blanc and Noir were pounding on the dome and yelling at their brother, "Jaune Arc, you come out here, right now!" Shouted Blanc.

"We have a lot to discuss and you need to explain yourself!" Noir added.

They all heard Jaune speak from inside the dome but it was slightly muffled, "Nope. I'm good in here." That just infuriated his eldest sisters and caused them to pound on the dome more.

Rose started to run around the dome while shouting to Jaune, "Come on, Big Bro, we want to know! Tell us! Or you can just tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!"

Rouge meanwhile, just jumped on top of the dome and sat there waiting with a huge grin. She was trying to start trouble but this was more than she was anticipating, and she was loving it. She was curious like the rest of her family but she was the most laid back so she was just going to wait and enjoy the show as it was going on.

The parents of the Arc siblings were just standing next to each other with Noah having his arm around his wife in a side hug. They just smiled at the display. It had been such a long time since they saw their children together and acting normal. Well, normal for Arcs. Bleu and Olive were standing next to their parents, they decided they didn't want any part of that whole situation and would just wait for Jaune to come out in a bit.

Ren and Nora were standing not too far from the Arc family and were just enjoying the show. Nora was laughing like a madwoman while Ren had a subtle smirk on his face. They loved to see Jaune with his family, it was the side they didn't see too often and it made them happy to see. Plus, it made them happy to see their unofficial adopted family whole again. Marron was standing with them and the youngest Arc sister was just confused about everything. She kept looking from the dome her Big Brother was hiding in to his girlfriends. She looked down at the ground nervously before she took a deep breath. She started to walk over to them.

The girls were just confused about the whole situation. They had no idea on what to do and they decided to just stay back and try to blend in with the background. They saw that the youngest Arc was making her way over to them. She stopped right in front of them and looked down at the ground, fiddling with her fingers. She looked up at them and nervously spoke up, "You're all dating my Big Brother?" The girls looked at one another before they nodded almost in sync. Marron nodded at that and spoke again, a little less nervous, "So, uh, does that mean…you love my Big Brother?" The girls all nodded again, no need to communicate with one another. Marron just looked at them for a while and soon she smiled, not the nervous one from earlier but a true smile. She bowed her head slightly, "Please take care of my Big Brother," She looked back up at them with that smile before finishing her sentence. "Big Sisters."

All the girls blushed at that. Having the young girl call them that had different effects on all of them. Blake and Pyrrha felt their hearts melt with that. Neither had any siblings and having the adorable girl call them that made them happy. Weiss was on cloud nine, she was called elder sister by her younger brother but it never felt genuine or had any emotion behind the title. But the way Marron said it was more natural and made her ecstatic, similar to how Jaune made her feel. Ruby was blushing up a storm, she was used to calling Yang that title but to be called it was a brand-new concept. Now she knew how Yang felt when she was called that. Yang on the other hand had been called that countless times over the years but having her boyfriend's little sister call her that renewed all the feelings that title held. She knelt in front of the dirty blonde girl and looked her in the eyes. Marron looked back at her with a nervous look. Yang gently wrapped her in a hug and spoke truthfully, "You know it, Little Sister." Marron lost any nervousness she still had for the older girl and returned the hug with a giggle and Yang hugged her just a bit tighter. The other girls just looked at them with a smile.

A rock opened on the dome and Jaune's face came into view, "Sun Fire!" Yang looked at her boyfriend confused. He then smirked at her, "Don't crush my favorite sister." He said teasingly and soon heard his other sisters give indignant 'Hey!' He quickly pulled back into the dome before Noir could grab him and now she had her entire arm in the dome, trying to grab him. The other's laughed and Yang released the hug she had Marron in.

"Good to see him like this again." They all turned to see the matriarch of the Arc family standing beside them with a smile. "Jaune has always had his feelings open to the world but he started to close himself off as he got older. Not that we helped him with that." Alexandra added with a sad tone. "For the longest time, we treated him like a fragile object and not our son or brother. That's probably why it's so hard for him to accept when he is in love; he may fear that the ones he loves will treat him like that again." She turned to them with a smile that was just utterly beautiful. "But what my son has told me about all of you, I have no doubt you'll treat him right and you all have my thanks. And blessing."

"Thank you, Mrs. Arc." Ruby spoke up nervously.

She giggled with that, "Call me Alexandra, Ruby." She looked to the rest of them, "Same for the rest of you. Also, call my husband Noah. We are still too young to be called mister and misses." She looked back over to her children and sighed, "Noir, Blanc, leave your brother alone. Jaune, come on out here so we can talk."

The monochrome twins stepped away begrudgingly and shortly after the dome came down and Rouge fell on the ground with a small yelp. Jaune was just standing there with a smile, "Got it, Mom." After that, Jaune explained to his family how he slowly but surely fell in love with each of his girlfriends and why they decided to try this unusual set up. The whole family was shocked that Alexandra was the one to give them the idea but she shrugged it off. The girls added in when they started to fall for him and why they agreed to try this. All the Arc siblings soon saw how much genuine love Jaune had for each of the girls as he spoke about them and how much love each girl had for their brother. They all started to accept this relationship except for two.

Blanc and Noir, the most protective of all the siblings, weren't convinced of this and had to make sure. They looked at each other, having a silent conversation and nodded. "Well, let's put this love to the test." Blanc started before Noir finished her thought, "We challenge you five to a fight, let's see if you're worthy of our Little Brother." Everyone was in shock with that.

* * *

They all found themselves in a clearing in the Emerald Forest. Jaune tried to dissuade his sisters and girlfriends from fighting but that fell on deaf ears. The sisters were intent to see if these girls were worthy of him and his girlfriends were determined to show how much they loved Jaune. It didn't help that Rouge agreed to fight alongside her sisters. She was fine with Jaune's relationship, out of all the sisters she knew and understood Jaune the best, she just wanted in on the fun. The three eldest Arc sisters were standing on the opposite side of the clearing while RWBY plus P were standing on the other side and Jaune was quickly giving them a rundown on his sister's abilities. "Isn't this cheating?" Ruby asked.

"They are professional Huntresses, you all need a handicap. Especially, with them working together." Jaune responded.

"Oh, come on, Hero, we can handle this!" Yang said, oozing with confidence.

Jaune just gave her a look before he just continued, "Noir and Blanc use identical weapons, broadswords with their dominant hand and the bracer on their indominant arm can deploy a buckler. Blanc is right dominant and Noir is left dominant."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Blake spoke up.

"Their Semblance helps a lot. Their Semblance is Switch, it allows them to instantaneously switch positions with each other. That's what makes them a tricky duo to deal with." Jaune added.

"That is quite the Semblance." Pyrrha said with some concern.

"Rouge is going to just add to that. Her weapon is a semi-auto rifle that can shift into a crossbow. She is a great markswoman and her Semblance, Seeker, adds to that. She can use her aura to create a target on anything she wants through physical contact. She can then add her aura to a bolt and it'll hone in on the target. Pretty much, guaranteeing a direct hit." Jaune finished.

"Why would she use her bolts and not bullets?" Weiss asked in confusion.

"It would cost too much aura and time for the bullets so she prefers to use her bolts. With her on long range and the twins for close range, they are a deadly combo." Jaune finished up his rundown with that. He then sighed, "Just be careful. I don't care if they approve, I don't need you all hurt by trying to prove a point."

"Don't worry, Jaune. We can do this." Pyrrha spoke up.

"You've said you would prove every day that you are worthy of our love. Today it's our turn to prove we're worthy of yours." Weiss told him.

"We'll just take a page out of your book and find the strength to protect who we love." Blake added with a small smile.

"Yeah, have some faith in us, Jauney. We are your kickass girlfriends, after all." Yang smirked.

Ruby looked up at him with her usual smile, "It's our time to fight for you, Jaune."

Jaune looked at the determined looks on their faces and he could only sigh. He gave each one of them a kiss, "Kick their asses." Was all he said as he walked over to the rest of his family and honorary siblings, who were sitting on a log to watch the fight. As he sat down, he looked to his mother and nodded. She closed her eyes and her golden aura covered her body, before it shot out in a beam towards the ground ten feet in front of her. It started to form a giant circle around the fighters before it slowly formed a golden energy dome. Her Semblance, Safeguard, allowed her to create almost unbreakable barriers and shields. With that, the fight was good to go.

* * *

The fighters stood across from each other, their weapons were drawn and they were just staring at one another. Soon Noir and Blanc charged forwards and Rouge jumped back. The five women charged forward with that, "Yang, Blake, go after Rouge. We'll handle the twins!" Ruby gave the order and the two nodded before running past them. Ruby used her Semblance to meet the sisters but her blade was stopped by Blanc's sword. Instantly, Noir came from her right and went for a sword slash. She was stopped when the ground below her was frozen by Weiss and Pyrrha was firing at the black themed twin. Noir deployed her buckler and used it against the bullets. Blanc kicked Ruby in the stomach and sent her back before she jumped into the air. She positioned her sword to point down as she charged the blade with her aura. Next thing the three girls saw was a flash of black and white light and the sisters had switched positions.

Blanc smashed her blade into the ground to shatter the ice before she charged forward with her aura to engage Pyrrha. Pyrrha was off balance, Blanc was intentionally attacking Pyrrha from her sword side and not even trying to attack from the side with the shield. She was parrying the sword slashes from the older woman but she was being pushed back. Weiss backed her up with a few stabs from her rapier but they were deflected by Blanc's buckler.

Ruby was going to help them but she had to bring her scythe up to stop the two-handed swing from Noir from the sky. Ruby was using all her strength to not crumble under the attack. As soon as Noir's feet hit the ground, she used her aura to send the two of them flying towards the other three fighters. Ruby was off balance by this and was just flying through the air. There was another flash of white and black and now Ruby was facing Blanc, who kicked her in the stomach towards her friends. Pyrrha and Weiss were shocked to now be fighting Noir. She was parrying Weiss's stabs with her sword and blocking Pyrrha's slashed with her buckler, the complete opposite from the fight they were dealing with seconds before. She then dove to the side suddenly and the champion and heiress were soon hit by their resident reaper and sent to the ground. Noir rolled back to her feet and Blanc landed beside her. They looked at each other and nodded before running towards their opponents.

* * *

Yang and Blake were fighting Rouge while that was going on. She was not using her weapon currently and was just dodging Yang's punches and Blake's sword swings. They could tell now that she was skilled in some sort of martial arts. She was dodging all their attacks with practiced ease and was smiling the whole time. This caused Yang a great deal of anger because it reminded her of fighting that Neapolitan chick from before. This was her downfall, in her angered state, Rouge got within her guard and hit her in the stomach with a palm strike filled with aura. This sent her flying a decent distance back.

Blake tried to hit her from her blind spot with that but Rouge just pulled her rifle and started to unload in her direction. Blake had to use her Shadow to avoid it. But Rouge was still firing at her afterwards. Blake kept dodging, until Rouge was forced to reload her clip. Blake charged forwards with that, intent on capitalizing on the opportunity. Rouge just smirked and ran at her, as well. She flipped over Blake, much to the Faunus' confusion and planted her foot on her left shoulder before kicking off her with her aura. This sent Rouge a decent distance from her and caused her to tumble into Yang, who just got to her feet again.

When the two stood back up, Rouge just smiled at them. "Time for the best part." She teased jokingly before she snapped her fingers. The girls saw two red Arc symbols appear on their bodies, Yang's stomach and Blake's left shoulder. Rouge then shifted her weapon to it crossbow form and loaded a bolt that was shining with her red aura as she fired. The red bolt flew as fast as bullet and struck Yang in the stomach, sending her flying into the dome. Blake was shocked and turned back to see a second bolt already coming for her. She used a Shadow and jumped off it to get away from it. But the bolt passed through it before reangling and hitting her in her shoulder. That sent her into the barrier, right next to her partner. Rouge just started to run over to her older sisters with that.

* * *

The Arc twins were definitely dealing with the three Huntresses-in-training with little effort. The twins were back to back, using their bucklers to defend before striking out with the swords. If they needed to, they would shift positions with their Semblance to get a better angle for an attack. They figured out the perfect opportunities to attack each fighter. When Ruby went for a swing with her scythe, they would stop it before the other would attack her exposed side. For Weiss, they would focus on when she would use a Glyph before attacking her directly. Pyrrha was the hardest to figure out but they still found a handful of openings to attack on. Eventually, Ruby and Pyrrha jumped back to shoot at the twins but they were distracted when they saw Yang and Blake hit the barrier behind them. They turned back and saw two bolts land in ground in front of them before they exploded. They were blinded by smoke before the twins ran in and attacked both of them, dealing significant damage before they kicked them away. Weiss retreated and regrouped with her team and Pyrrha.

Rouge stood behind her sisters with her weapon in its crossbow form. That's when she spoke up. "This is fun and all, but could you give up? I really don't wanna hurt my Little Bro's girlfriends."

They all soon stood ready to fight again, "We aren't going to go down that easy." Yang said defiantly.

"So be it." Noir and Blanc said in sync. The next few minutes were hard to watch. The twins fought them in close range while Rouge covered them with suppressive fire. The twins had to heavily rely on their Semblance but it paid off. Rouge managed to mark the other three Huntresses-in-Training and was waiting for precise moments to fire her bolts. She would either create an opening for her sisters to use to deal more damage or finish a combo the twins started. Not to say that RWBY plus P didn't do their best. They managed to drop the twins to two-thirds of their aura from damage but mostly from repeated use of their Semblance. Rouge was down to about half from using her Seeker on five people simultaneously. The five girls were barely standing but refused to fall.

"Please, just stop." Rouge was begging. This wasn't fun anymore. This was getting serious and she really didn't want this to continue.

Yang shook her head and almost fell, "Not a chance."

Ruby had Crescent Rose in the ground, ready to fire but mostly leaning on it. "We can still fight."

Weiss was standing not far away on shaky legs, "I concur. This isn't over."

Pyrrha was breathing heavily and it wasn't slowing down anytime soon. "We won't give up. Not yet."

Blake was currently blinking rapidly to try and remove her daze, "Enough talking." She said tiredly.

Noir growled slightly, "Just give up already! How are you supposed to protect out brother when you can barely stand!?"

Blanc nodded, "If you can't even beat us, you have no chance at protecting him!" They looked at the girls and the defiance they had in their eyes galvanized them into charging at them to finish this. Rouge sighed sadly before getting ready to fire again.

* * *

Outside the barrier, Jaune was looking upon the fight with growing anger. His sisters were being more and more brutal to his girlfriends and it was making him angrier the more they were getting hurt. The fact that they were being hurt so bad by his sisters was just making his anger boiling over. His fists were clenched painfully and he was grinding his teeth. Ren and Nora were trying to calm him down but he was all but ignoring them. He had his eyes on the fight the entire time. His parents were watching in concern and were about to stop the fight when the twins shouted about them protecting Jaune. With that, Jaune shot towards the barrier with his aura. He was going almost as fast as when he used his lightning Semblance but they saw no lightning. He jumped and had his arm back, ready to punch the barrier with an aura fist. They were concerned because they all knew Jaune couldn't break his mother's barrier with that and Alexandra had no time to lower. But only Ren saw something unusual, there was a faint black outline surrounding Jaune's fist just below his aura. Jaune's fist collided with the barrier and it shattered, to the shock of the Arc family.

Jaune rolled out of the dive and got back to his feet. As he did, he sent the energies of the five elements to five parts of his body. He stomped with his right foot and erected a stone wall between his sisters and his girlfriends, to their utter shock. Jaune then quickly exhaled a stream of fire from his mouth directly at the twins, which they had to jump back from. Jaune kept running to his girlfriends; he sent his right palm forward to send an arc of lightning at Rouge who fire her bolt at it to stop it. He quickly flipped into the air and kicked with his left leg to send an air blade at her. She was forced to jump back from that. He pulled his water dust crystal from his pocket with his left hand and used his water Semblance with it to send a wave at all three of his sisters. The three had to quickly use their aura to cut through it. They looked to see Jaune standing in front of the rock wall with an angry look in his eyes.

Jaune was currently going through Elemental Backlash from using the five elements in rapid succession. The stone wall fell and the girls were shocked to see Jaune standing there. "This is over!" he shouted as he pocketed his dust crystal. The twins looked like they would argue but he cut them off, "Stow it! I don't wanna hear it! Newsflash, I'm not the little kid that needed you to protect him! I haven't been in years! I don't need protection and I don't need the five girls I love to protect me! Just as they don't need me to protect them! Time to show you what we can really do!" The sisters were stunned by this and were just silent.

Jaune turned to his girlfriends, all anger gone from his eyes and just a smile on his face. "Let's do this. Together." They smiled and agreed as they felt their second winds kicking in. "Alright. Ruby and Weiss, deal with Rouge. You two working together can keep her off balance." They nodded. "Yang, Blake and Pyrrha, come with me. You'll supply me with back up as I deal with the twins directly." The three nodded and Jaune drew both Raikiri and Fukiri, he was then cloaked in both lightning and wind as his respective eyes turned yellow and light green.

He shot forward, even quicker then with lightning alone, since his body was lighter from wind. The twins were shocked and barely blocked his swords with their own. Jaune hit Blanc with an arc of lightning from Raikiri and Noir was hit with an air blast from Fukiri. Jaune then started to burst off in a burst of lightning to keep up the pressure. This caused the twins to use Switch even more to protect themselves. Rouge was about to unload with her rifle when she had to dodge sniper fire from Ruby and before she knew it, Weiss was using her Glyphs to send ice at her as well. She had little choice but to keep dodging. Ruby and Weiss then took advantage of that to deal strikes to her when she was dodging. Yang, Blake and Pyrrha got in position around the three Arcs and were firing at the twins when the opportunity was there.

The Arc stopped their attacks and stood opposite of each other, breathing heavily. Jaune sheathed Raikiri and switched Fukiri to his right hand before drawing Dokiri. His right eye turned light green and his left turned brown. "Arkos!" he shouted a she slammed his foot down and created the six rock pillars around them. He started to fight his sisters again before Pyrrha threw Akouo at the pillars and it started to rebound off them as she jumped into the fray as well. Noir and Blanc were soon in the same position BRNZ was not long ago. They had to defend against two highly skilled fighters and the rebounding shield. Jaune pointed towards Blake and Pyrrha nodded, "On it." The two jumped out and Pyrrha recalled Akouo as Jaune made the pillars explode inward.

Jaune landed next to Yang. He sheathed Dokiri and drew Kakiri, his left eye turning red. He could feel Elemental Backlash coming but quickly snuffed it out. He had no time to waste. He looked at Yang and nodded, "Dragonslayer!" Yang quickly activated her Semblance and the two blondes charged. The twins barely had time to breath after the explosion before they had to deal with the super strong blondes charging them. The two would alter between which one would attack and each hit sent the sisters further back. Jaune went for a sword swing and Yang went for power packed punch, the sisters blocked it but were still sent skidding back. Jaune created a giant fireball and Yang used all her strength to clap her hands together, sending the flames flying at the sisters. It would look to be something akin to what a dragon would breath. They had to use a large amount of aura into their bucklers to protect themselves but it did the trick.

Yang fell to her knees after that and was gasping for air "Wow, we really are _hot_ -heads." She said with a smirk.

Jaune sheathed Kakiri and gently rubbed her back, "Take a breather, Sun Fire. You earned it." She looked at him with her usual smile and nodded. Jaune answered with his own nod and smile. He looked over to Blake as his eyes both became light green. "Knightshade!" Blake nodded and they both ran towards the twins.

The flames were barely gone when Blanc and Noir saw the next attacks coming. Blake and Jaune were slashing at them from all angles, keeping them on their toes. It was especially annoying when Blake would create a Shadow just for Jaune to cut through it to score a hit. Or when Jaune would use his wind Semblance to redirect Gambol Shroud in it kusarigama form to hit them in their blind spot. The twins finally jumped back and the two sent a series of attacks at them, energy slashes from Blake and wind blades from Jaune. The two were sent flying back with that.

Ruby and Weiss were keeping Rouge distracted when they saw the attacks from Jaune and Blake. They quickly got out of the way and Rouge was hit with the same attack her sisters were. The two made their way over to the others with that. Blake and Jaune were exhausted with that, Jaune mostly from Elemental Backlash finally kicking in. Jaune looked to see that Pyrrha, Yang and Blake were spent. Ruby and Weiss were okay for now. He took a deep breath as he sheathed Fukiri and redrew Raikiri to replace it. "You three, take a break. Weiss cover them." The four girls agreed and Jaune looked at Ruby with a smile as his eyes shifted to yellow again. "Lancaster!" She gained a huge smile before the two took off in flurry of rose petals and a burst of lightning.

The Arc siblings were barely standing when they saw lighting and rose petals circling them. At random intervals, they would be hit by either a sword or scythe blade. They stood back to back to cover each other but that was when the two struck from above, dealing decent damage before bursting away, again. The two were heading back towards WBY and Pyrrha when they spun around. Ruby put her back to Jaune's chest as he was sliding across the ground. She transformed Crescent Rose to its rifle mode and Jaune gently laid his hand against it. "Be good to my Sweetheart." Was all Ruby said with a hollow threat. Jaune just kissed the back of her head as an answer. Jaune channeled electricity throughout Crescent Rose and Ruby fired a full clip of ammo, which was now electrified. The Arc siblings blocked the bullets but the electricity did more than enough damage.

Jaune finally lost momentum right in front of the rest of the group. He put Ruby down and sheathed Raikiri and drew Suikiri. Ruby leant against Yang for support as Jaune took one last deep breath, he was just as exhausted as them now. "Let's end this. White Knight!" Weiss nodded and quickly materialized Glyphs around the elder Arcs. Jaune charged forward and pulled his water dust crystal from his pocket, 'This is gonna cost me.' he thought to himself. He sent his aura into the crystal and it started to glow blue, right before he slammed it into the ground. The crystal shattered but created a large amount of water. Jaune started to send the water as streams into Weiss' Glyphs and they started to fire ice at the sisters. They were being buffeted as Jaune jumped above them. The Glyphs disappeared and the water still at the sister's feet was frozen solid by Weiss. Jaune used all the water dust in his sword plus any water that was still in the air to form a giant water blade around Suikiri's blade, it was now three times as long and twice as thick. Jaune stopped in the air when his feet landed on Weiss's Glyph, it turned black and angled him toward his sisters before it shifted back to white. The Glyph plus Jaune's aura sent him flying at them as he swung down with his pressurized water blade. When the blade hit the ice, it created a giant water explosion that hid the four Arcs from sight.

When the water was gone, the three Arc sisters were laying on the ground, their aura's shattered. Jaune was standing between them all exhausted and his aura barely intact. He sheathed his sword before he looked at his sisters with a smirk, "Looks like we win."

Rouge chuckled with that, "Don't get used to that Little Bro. You only won because of your girlfriends."

He nodded, "True. They are awesome." He said with a smile. He then turned to his eldest sisters with a serious look, "This mean _we_ proved ourselves?"

The two sisters looked at each other as they sat up and nodded. Blanc spoke weakly, "We're sorry, Jaune. We shouldn't have done that. We were just worried."

Noir added on with a shaky voice, "We were just afraid to lose you, are precious Little Brother. But you're more than that and you need to live your life."

The two were closed to tears and Jaune fell to his knees and hugged them close, "I'm glad you two finally understand. But don't worry, I'll always be your Little Brother. No matter what." The two hugged him back and they could feel the rift that formed between them years ago, finally mend. They pulled apart and Jaune was soon tackled by red, white, black, yellow and bronze blurs. The five girls were hugging Jaune close and they were all laughing. This made the sisters smile at the sight and the rest of the Arc family, as they started to make their way over to them.

* * *

 **A/N- It finally happened! TES has finally broke 1k favorites! I should've thanked you all way before now but I've had little time to type or post. But seriously, thank you all so much. I can't say how much this means to me and how baffling it still is. Its just shocking to see my very first Fanfic reach 1k for Favorites and Follows. So thank you all so much and I hope you all enjoy this til the end. Let's see if we can hit 1.5k Follows next. But if not, I'm content with this. See you all in the next update!  
**


	69. Conviction

After the fight, the Arcs invited all of them to go out to dinner. They wanted more time to get to know the new women in Jaune's life. They all agreed and took the next bullhead down to Vale. They went to a nice restaurant that they had reservations for beforehand and they all just talked while they ate. It was a nice sight, Jaune just felt like his heart would burst. He was reunited with his family after two years and he was here with the loves of his life. He was smiling as big as he could. He just felt…whole.

"Jaune? Are you okay?" He turned to his left and saw Ruby looking at him concerned.

"I'm fine. Why, Rosebud?" he asked.

"Because you're crying." She said. He reached up to his face and felt his cheeks were slightly damp. He noticed that everyone was looking at him with that.

He quickly wiped the evidence from his face and had his smile still on, "Yeah, I'm good, Rosebud. Just feeling something, I haven't felt in a long time." He gently ruffled her hair and she smiled at him.

He felt a pair of arms wrap around him with that. He turned to his right and saw that Pyrrha was hugging him gently. "We're here if you need us, Jaune." She said with her usual smile.

Jaune returned it and gave her a quick peck, "I know, Pyr. I know." He felt Ruby hug him in slight jealous, so he wrapped one arm around each of his redheaded girls and hugged them both. They sat there happily until they heard several women say "Awww." They looked to see all his sisters and mother staring at them. Which caused all three of them to blush.

"Wow, Little Bro, you sure have become a lady's man." Rouge said teasingly.

"Yes, he certainly has." Yang added, sitting right next to Rouge. "So, any embarrassing stories you can share with me?" Yang asked her.

Rouge turned to her, "You have no idea."

"Sun Fire. Rouge." They heard Jaune speak and turned to him. He had a smile with no joy in it as he spoke. "I recommend you not share any of those stories. I have plenty embarrassing stories about you two, curtesy of your dad, Yang. So, unless you want those stories to spread, I wouldn't do that."

"Oh, please. Your bluff won't work on me, Bro." Rouge challenged.

"Yeah, you love me too much to do that." Yang added with a smile.

"True." Jaune said with the same smile. "But, I also have two ringers. Ruby, Nora, prepare for operation 'Karma.'" Instantly, Ruby and Nora had their Scrolls out and had evil smiles on their faces. Both ready to send already saved embarrassing stories to many mutual acquaintances of both girls. Rouge and Yang looked slightly fearful of this. "Younger siblings usually find ways to get even. So, your move." Jaune said in his cliché evil voice. There was a stare off from the blondes before they bowed their heads in defeat and the table started to laugh at the whole situation.

After dinner, the whole family went to the park to enjoy some more time together. Jaune played with his younger sisters and his girlfriends just smiled lovingly at them. Especially when he was tackled to the ground by all four of his younger sisters during a game of tag. They saw that someone had their guitar out with a portable amp and was playing for the people around. Jaune eventually went up to him and threw some Lien into his case and started to talk to him. After a bit, the Faunus, who had a tiger tail, handed his guitar to Jaune. He smiled at his girls and started to play, which surprised them all besides Weiss. She remembered him saying he could play but never thought he'd be that good. He soon started to sing the lyrics of PAPERMOON as he played for his family and girlfriends. They weren't sure why, but the song just seemed perfect for Jaune and themselves. When he was done people were clapping for him and he bowed to them as many people threw Lien into the guitar case. Jaune handed the Faunus his guitar back and they started to talk again. The Faunus was motioning to his guitar case and Jaune kept shaking his head. Jaune soon patted him on the back and rejoined his family, "What did you think?" he asked.

He was soon tackled by Yang and Ruby, "That was amazing!" Ruby shouted.

"Yeah. Why didn't you tell us you could play?!" Yang asked as well.

Jaune just chuckled and kissed their cheeks, "You never asked." He said with a smirk. They gave him an unamused look and Jaune just laughed more.

"What were you two talking about?" Blake asked.

Jaune was standing up while speaking, "Oh, Tony was offering me the money he got from my performance. I told him to keep it, I just felt like playing." He said with a smile.

"And you wanting to show off for us had nothing to do with it." Blake accused with a small smile.

He just smirked, "Maybe." Blake just shook her head and gave him a light peck.

Soon they had to say goodbye to the Arcs. They were luckily staying in Vale until the end of the Vytal Festival, so they would see them soon. The Beacon group all went to the airfield and got on a bullhead back to Beacon. They were all sitting in a peaceful silence until Jaune spoke up, "Told you girls you had nothing to worry about." There was a brief silence and soon they were all laughing at the situation. It looked like everything was settled on the Arc front of their relationship. They just had to worry about Weiss', Blake's and Pyrrha's families, but for now, they just sat in peace and enjoyed their time together.

They all eventually made it back to Beacon, it was getting late so they decided to just head back to their dorms. Halfway there, Ren gently grabbed Jaune's arm. "Mind if we talk?" he asked.

Jaune shrugged, "Sure, Ren." He turned to the girls as they were walking away. "We'll be back later. Guy talk." They waved back and the two guys walk away from the dorms to a more secluded place on campus. They were near the back of the library when they stopped, "So, what's up?" Jaune asked.

Ren turned to him and looked him in the eyes, "How'd you break through Mother Arc's barrier?"

Jaune paused for a second before he shrugged, "No idea. I was pretty angry, maybe that pushed me over the top?"

"I doubt that. Your top strength being amplified by your fire Semblance mixed with your aura could barely crack it before. But you shattered it with little effort this time." Jaune was about to respond when Ren continued. "Plus, I saw a black outline around your hand, just underneath your aura." Jaune froze with that. "Care to explain?"

Jaune was thinking this all over. He was debating on whether to tell Ren everything or not. Eventually he came to a decision and sighed, "You need to keep this a secret, Ren. You can't tell anyone else. Especially, the girls." Ren looked at this brother and nodded. "What I used to destroy Mom's barrier was this." He held up his right hand, palm open. He absorbed the correct amount of each element before mixing his aura with it. His right eye shifted to a shade of purple that was borderline black and a softball sized, black sphere was created in his palm, hovering there.

Ren just stared at it. "Is that…?" he trailed off.

"The power I used at Kuroyuri." Jaune finished. "The fusion of all five elements and my aura. The ultimate element, Void."

Ren's eyes narrowed slightly, "I thought you said you couldn't remember what happened that day or anything about that." He finished, motioning to the orb.

Jaune looked at him, "I lied. As much as I hated to, I needed to keep this quiet. I just have this feeling, Ren. And this feeling is that I need to use everything I have, to save the people I love. That includes Void. And if you all knew about this, you would've tried to stop me. That's why I kept it quiet." He dismissed the orb and it faded away. He leant his back against the library and slowly slid down the wall to sit on the floor.

After a bit, Ren sat next to him, "I understand but could you blame us. You died, Jaune."

Jaune nodded, "I understand, completely. But I still need this power and you all trying to stop me would've made it worse. Besides, it's not like I'm completely clueless anymore."

"What do you mean?" Ren asked.

"The whole week I was in that coma, I was in a mindscape. If that makes sense. A part of my mind pulled me there to better train me in Void because of how dangerous it is. So, from the time I was revived to the time I regained consciousness, I trained to mentally understand Void and mastered it. At least, mentally. I understand Void very well now from having nothing else to do besides train with it. I just need some physical experience and I should be okay." Jaune finished.

Ren just stared at him, "That sounds insane."

Jaune chuckled, "Yeah, it does. But it's true. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to use it the subtle way I did with the barrier. Only you noticed, so it isn't that farfetched." He looked back at him, "You know that my Semblance involves both mental and physical training to use an element. Every time before, I learned the physical side then the mental side to perfect it. But this time, I had to do the reverse because of the sheer power of this one element."

Ren just kept staring at his brother. He wanted to argue with him about this but everything Jaune said made sense, on some weird level. He settled on a compromise, "At least tell me, it won't kill you again." He asked, almost pleading.

Jaune was quiet for a long time and it made Ren worried, "It won't. As long as I don't push myself too far. And I know the limits to Void. I would've died several times over in my training if I wasn't in my mindscape. But because of that, I know my limits and won't push myself that far." He was quiet for a bit longer. "Hopefully." He said with a small smile.

Ren just sighed at his usual antics. "Okay, Jaune. I'll keep this quiet. For now." He looked at him seriously. "But you need to tell the others."

Jaune nodded, "I will. After the Vytal Festival, deal?"

Ren nodded, "Deal."

The two stood up and started walking to their dorm again. The whole time Jaune was thinking, 'I'm glad Ren didn't pry too deep about Void. If he knew everything I do about it, he'd definitely have Nora break my legs for even attempting to use it. Hopefully, they'll forgive me later. And hopefully, I won't have to use it.' He added sadly, knowing what would happen if he did. But with the ominous feeling still in the air and it almost feeling like it was increasing, it was probably not a possibility.

* * *

Jaune woke up late the next morning. Not surprising, he pushed his Semblance pretty far the day before with the fight against BRNZ and then his older sisters. Plus, his right hand was still tender from using Void to smash through that barrier. He got up and noticed that he was the only one still in the room. He checked his scroll to see where everyone was. He had messages from all of them. Ruby and Yang were hanging out with Qrow. Ren and Nora went down to visit more with his parents and for something important. Blake and Pyrrha went to spend more time with his siblings, made sense. Pyrrha had loved him for the longest out of all his girlfriends and Blake was his first girlfriend in this strange relationship, of course they wanted to be on his sister's good side. And finally, Weiss was spending time with Winter. "Huh. Looks like I'm on my own today." He said to himself before he went to get a shower. He dressed in his usual attire but kept his hoodie unzipped to show his black shirt. He also decided to wear his belt he got from Weiss.

Jaune went to get a quick bite from the cafeteria before he just decided to walk around campus. It was a bit chilly but he really didn't mind. He walked around for a bit while using his scroll to check on the fights for the tournament. CFVY and CRDL had their fights today and he at least wanted to show support, even if he wasn't physically there. CFVY did phenomenal, like he expected, and CRDL did very well. His help looked like it paid off.

When the fights were over, he realized he ended up in the gardens on autopilot. He shrugged as he put his scroll on his belt. He decided to walk through it, since he was already here. He smelt the sweet scent of all the flowers and it reminded him of the time he came here with Weiss. He smiled, "Even when I'm away from them, they are always on my mind." He heard a familiar sound and turned his head to see that there was a bright light coming from further in the gardens. Curiosity won out and he went to see what it was.

He eventually saw that it was Weiss working on a Glyph with Winter. He smiled at that but he felt bad, 'Don't wanna intrude. Better sneak away.' He was just about to do that when a voice stopped him.

"If you're done spying on us, I would suggest you come out." Came the professional voice of Winter.

Jaune was shocked but shrugged it off. He walked out to them and Weiss' face went from one of confusion to joy. "Jaune, what are you doing here?" she asked as she walked over to him.

He kept making his way over as he scratched the back of his head, "Came here on accident. I was watching CFVY 's and CRDL's fights on my scroll and I came here on autopilot." He looked at her with a smile when they stopped in front of each other. "Guess you were on my mind. Sorry to intrude though." He added sheepishly.

"It's fine, Jaune. I want you to get better acquainted with Winter anyways." She gently took his right hand and he winced. She noticed and looked concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing much, Snow Angel." He gave her a small smile. "My hand is just tender from busting my Mom's barrier yesterday."

She looked at his hand and used her thumb to gently rub it as he hummed in appreciation. She then let go of his hand and took his other, "I'll just do this to not hurt you."

He brought her hand to his lips and gently kissed it. "I appreciate it but don't worry, your Knight is tougher than most."

She blushed at his action and words. "And your Snow Angel doesn't want you to get hurt unnecessarily."

The two looked at each other with nothing but love. They would've kissed if not for the cough they heard from the other person, "Please, no public displays of affection when in front of me." Winter said.

The two blushed before Weiss guided him over to her sister. "Winter, I'd like to formally introduce to you my boyfriend, Jaune Arc." She said professionally.

Jaune held his hand out to her like he did before, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Winter." He said with a smile.

Winter looked at his hand before she gripped it. Jaune winced again. He didn't know if she was trying to hurt him on purpose or not, but he'd give her the benefit of the doubt. "So, you're the boy who claimed my sister's heart. She's told me a bit about you. Like you're also dating her team and your partner." She said with a cold edge to her voice.

Jaune looked into her eyes and nodded, "Yeah. That is true." He sighed, "It's kinda complicated."

"Not really. You are dating my sister along with four other girls and she deserves better than that." She said with a glare.

Weiss was about to speak up but Jaune gently squeezed her hand and she stopped. "You're right. She does. They all deserve someone who'll love them and only them. But they don't agree. As much as I have told them this, they believe I'm worth all this hassle. So, I'm going to prove that I'm worthy of that love. No matter what." She told her unwaveringly.

Winter was slightly impressed but didn't show it. "You do realize she has a lot to lose from being in this kind of relationship. Our father could strip her of her position as heiress. He is one of the most powerful men in the world and has many assets at his disposal. Tell me, what would you do if our father forbade you from dating her. Or if _I_ did."

Weiss was shocked by this. She was about to stand up for them but Jaune beat her to it. "It doesn't matter." He said with full conviction, shocking the sisters. "Weiss has given me her trust, love and heart. I will not throw that away, no matter what threat or deal he makes, I will not back down. I will stand by Weiss until the day comes where she believes I'm no longer worthy of her or I breathe my last breath. That goes for the rest of my girlfriends. You on the other hand, you are the person she cares about most in her family. Not having your blessing would hurt her, but I stand by my word. I will not abandon, Weiss. My Snow Angel."

Weiss was tearing up with his words. As much as she loved him and he loved her, she was still afraid that her father would somehow ruin the best thing in her life. But for him to speak so passionately, she knew he meant every word and would uphold it. She turned him to face her and she stood on her toes to give him the most loving kiss she could muster as her tears ran down her face, ignoring her sister's presence completely. Jaune was shocked but returned the kiss with as much love.

Winter was stunned by this. She could feel the conviction in his voice and his eyes showed her that he was truly serious with his claim. He seemed like someone she could agree with but she had to be certain. Weiss had a lot to lose from this relationship. She needed to know he was serious before she gave them any support. When the two broke apart and Jaune gently wiped away her tears, she spoke up, "That does sound good and all. But how can I or Weiss be sure? How do we know you'll never go back on your word and will not fall out of 'love' with Weiss or those other girls?"

Jaune looked at her angrily. 'Who is she to second guess my word and my love.' He thought. "Because of these." He said this as he grabbed the bottom of his shirt.

Weiss' eyes grew wide. "Jaune, you don't have to go that far!" she said in an effort to stop him from doing what he was going to do. But it was too late. Jaune pulled up his shirt to show Winter his scarred chest. She was shocked to say the least. For someone so young to have such scars was baffling.

"The scar across my chest was when I jumped in front of my sisters when an Alpha Beowolf tried to kill them. I promised them that I'd always protect them and this scar proves that. The bullet scar is from when a White Fang pointed a rifle at one of the members of RWBY, intent on killing one of them. I didn't know which one he was aiming for but that didn't matter. I jumped in front of the bullet regardless to protect them because I love them equally and fully. Both of these scars should've killed me but I'm still here and they show my conviction." He told her with a voice full of emotions.

"Jaune." Was all Weiss could say, weakly as she held his left hand a bit tighter.

Winter walked closer to Jaune and she was still staring at his chest. She raised her hand slightly to touch them before she stopped herself. She had no right to do that. She then looked into his eyes calmly. They just stared back at her, unwavering. She searched his eyes for any falsehood but found none. Her face lost its professional mask and was replaced with a small smile. "I believe you, Mr. Arc. If you hold onto that conviction, I believe this relationship will work."

Jaune and Weiss were both stunned, Jaune dropped his shirt from the shock. Weiss soon spoke up, "Does this mean…?"

Winter looked at her and nodded, "You have my blessing and my support when you tell Father." Weiss was so excited she went and hugged Winter closely. Winter returned it shortly after.

Jaune spoke up after they pulled apart. "Thank you for the support, Winter. I'll be sure to live up to it."

Winter looked at him and nodded, "I have no doubt you will. Just be there for her and protect her if she ever needs it. Otherwise, I'll make you pay, Mr. Arc." She said with an icy tone as she gripped her sword.

Jaune nodded, "I swear on my life." Winter nodded. "And please, call me Jaune."

She nodded, "Okay, Jaune." She said with a smile. "Could you give us some time to talk, between sisters?"

Jaune nodded, "No need to explain. I have seven sisters myself." Winter's jaw dropped while Jaune and Weiss laughed at her expression. Jaune then walked away and let the sisters have their moment. After a few minutes, Weiss came over to him with a smile on her face. "Done already?" he asked.

She nodded, "She couldn't stay long and she just wanted to give me some advice." She wrapped her arms around his left arm and kissed his cheek before she rested her head against his shoulder, "I'm so glad she approves."

Jaune smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Me too, Snow Angel." The two started to walk back to the dorms in a peaceful silence after that. Both were content that they had an ally against the Schnee front and the cold patriarch. Neither knew how that battle would go but that didn't matter. As long as they had each other and the rest of their teams, they could handle it.

* * *

 **A/N- I chose PAPERMOON because the song has been running through my head on repeat lately. I never said which lyrics Jaune sang, English or Japanese, because I thought it be better for you all to think of the lyrics you prefer. That's all for now. Catch you all later!  
**


	70. The Other Side of Me

Jaune and Weiss were making their way back to the dorms. Weiss was no longer holding onto his arm but was still holding his hand. She was still wary of PDAs but that didn't mean she wouldn't show Jaune love. They both had happy smiles. With Winter being okay with their relationship, a massive weight was off their shoulders. Jaune did remember something though. "Hey, Snow Angel, what were you working on back there anyways?" he asked.

She looked at him before she looked away, "Winter was helping me with my Summoning Glyph." She stated.

"Summoning?" he asked confused.

She nodded, "The Schnees have been able to summon Grimm that they have slain and have them fight for them." She said professionally.

Jaune just looked at her wide eyed, "Wow. And I thought my Semblance was amazing."

"It would be, if I could actually do it." She said sadly. Jaune looked at her confused and she continued. "I've always have difficulty with that aspect of my Semblance. I still can't do it."

Jaune brought his other hand to his chin to think about that. "Hmmm, sounds like a problem I had with my Semblance a while back. When I started to experiment with the Advance Elements, it was hard to develop them because I had no idea what the two elements would create together. But, once I had a good idea on what would happen, it came to me easier. Maybe you need something similar." He hazarded a guess.

She looked at him with that, "What would you suggest?"

"Well, maybe focus on a special Grimm. We've killed a lot of Grimm so far and the same species all kinda fuse together after a while. Honestly, the only Grimm that really stands out in my mind is the Nuckelavee, because it was so different from the other Grimm I've fought. Maybe if you focus on a unique Grimm and master that, summoning the more average ones will become easier." He suggested.

She thought it over and nodded, "That actually could work." She sighed, "Although, I can't really think of anything like the Nuckelavee that stands out." She said looking back at him.

He looked into her eyes and he looked at her scar. His eyes widened as he got an idea. "I think there is though."

She looked at him confused before she realized what he was looking at and her mind connected the dots. Her eyes widened, "The Arma Gigas." She said just above a whisper.

Jaune nodded, "That would be a unique Grimm to summon and it had a massive effect on your life. Maybe it'd be easier to summon that than something like a Boarbatusk." He then smirked. "Although, I may feel jealous with a second 'knight' in your life." He said teasingly.

She had a small smile with that and gently smacked his shoulder, "You are such a dolt." She said trying not to laugh.

"True but I'm your dolt." He said as he kissed her forehead. She smiled at him with a light blush and the two just kept making their way to the dorms. They decided to take the long way around and they were just enjoying the day. They were walking down the path when they saw Ruby talking with an exchange student, they knew because he was wearing the Haven uniform. He had shoulder length red hair and had a piercing on his right eyebrow. They looked happy. "Looks like Ruby made a new friend." Jaune said cheerfully.

As they got closer, Jaune felt like something was off. This guy was getting a little too close to her. He saw that Ruby looked nervous and fidgety, not excited and cheerful like the thought before. This was setting off alarms in his head and Jaune looked at Weiss, who looked at him with the same look and nodded. They started to walk over faster to see the guy place a hand on Ruby's shoulder and lean in to kiss her. Jaune heard Ruby say one thing, "No. Stop, please." In a fearful tone. That set Jaune off, he let go of Weiss' hand and rocketed forward with his aura. He caught the guy in the side of the head with his right fist and sent him flying several meters away. His hand was still sore, so it throbbed painfully but he ignored it.

He knelt down besides Ruby and gently rested his hands on her shoulders, "Are you okay, Rosebud?"

She looked at him in disbelief before her eyes started to water and she hugged him like her life depended on it. She cried into his shoulder, "I'm sorry, Jaune. I didn't mean for that to happen. I thought he was just being friendly and next thing I know he's trying to kiss me and trying to get me to do…other things." She said this through her sobs.

He just held her close, "You have nothing to be sorry for, Ruby." He told her and felt his anger rise. "You're safe now." Weiss ran over to them and she was worried for her best friend and leader. Ruby looked at her and quickly held her in a hug, which Weiss returned. Jaune was just looking to at his girlfriend trying to soothe the other, and his blood boiled. He stood up and turned from them, "You two stay here. I need to have a conversation with that guy." He said angrily and his eyes shifted to red on reflex.

Before either of the girls could say anything, Jaune had already taken off towards where the guy flew. He saw the guy slowly getting off the ground and mumbling, "What hit me?"

"That would be me, asshole!" he shouted. Marching over to him.

The guy turned his green eyes to Jaune, "What the hell, man? I was about to score!"

"Yeah? With a girl that wanted none of that and more precisely is dating someone!?" he answered.

"Come on, no girl that young can get into a school like this early without doing 'extra' work." He sneered.

Jaune shot off with his aura and punched him in the stomach. The guy doubled over and Jaune struck him twice more, effectively lifting off the ground a good foot or so. Jaune kicked him in the ribs and sent him skidding across the ground. When he stopped, Jaune made his way over to him. "Say that again! I dare you!" Jaune created a fireball and hurled it at the Haven student.

Luckily, the guy saw it and was able to dive out of the way. It exploded on the ground where he was but as he recovered, another was on the way. The guy kept dodging but was getting winded as the grounds were soon burning from all the fire being thrown around. "Dude, what the hell!? Chill out!" he shouted in fear.

"Not gonna happen! You tried to force yourself on my girlfriend!" Jaune sent a stream of fire with that and it caught the guy in his chest. His aura protected him but he could still feel the heat from it. He was sent skidding back and Jaune kept walking over to him. He pulled his handgun from his belt but as he fired, flames surrounded Jaune, protecting him form the shots. Jaune shouted and the flames flew from his body and knock the guy off his feet and caused him to drop his gun. He sat up from the ground and saw Jaune standing over him. His right eye was glowing red with that flame-like effect and the flames in his right hand were also glowing the same red. He just stared up in fear.

Jaune's anger was pushing his Semblance into Stage Two. If he was thinking clearer, he'd know that this next fire attack would most likely break this guy's aura and most likely burn him severely. But he was too angry to care. This guy deserved it for what he was going to do to Ruby. He was about to engulf him in his aura amplified flames when two people ran into him and held onto him tightly. "Jaune, stop!" he heard one of them cry out. Jaune snapped out of his bloodlust for a second to look down to see Weiss holding onto his left arm and Ruby holding his right side. Both looking at him wide eyed. They looked worried, almost fearful. It hurt him to see them looking at him like that. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His anger faded and the flames were extinguished. When his eyes opened, they were the usual blue they knew. The two girls escorted him away and the Haven student collapsed on the ground, thanking Oum he was still in one piece.

* * *

The three of them were now in RWBY's dorm. Weiss was sitting on the edge of her bed while Jaune was leaning against her legs as he sat on the floor. She was gently rubbing his shoulders to calm him. Ruby was sitting in his lap sideways with her legs off to his left. She was hugging him and leaning her head against his chest. Jaune just held Ruby in his arms protectively and had his eyes closed trying to stay calm. This is how they were for the last half an hour, none of them speaking at all. Each one having a lot on their minds and just wanted to just enjoy the peace. Jaune took a deep breath and opened his eyes before uttering above a whisper, "I'm sorry."

Weiss stopped rubbing his shoulders and Ruby looked up at him confused, "For what, Jaune?"

Jaune just looked into her beautiful silver eyes but soon turned away, making sure he wouldn't lock eyes with Weiss either. He was unable to meet their gazes. "I never wanted you to see that side of me. All the hate, anger and pain I endured over the years, I've tried to bury it away. But that just resulted in creating that side of me that is remorseless against enemies and is…. willing to kill." He stopped but neither girl said anything, so he continued to speak. "I try to be the guy you deserve to be with. But, no matter what I say or what I do, that part is still there. And at the end of the day." He let go of Ruby before he continued. "I'm still a murderer. A monster."

There was a deafening silence throughout the room and Jaune just sat there. "Nope!" he heard Ruby said. He glanced towards her and she was staring at him determined. "You are not a monster."

"Ruby, you don't need to lie to me. I under-" he was cut off when Ruby's lips met his. His eyes widened slightly and he could feel the love behind her lips. He soon started to return it with as much love. She wrapped his arms around her again and he instinctively pulled her closer. She returned her arms to be around his neck before she tightened her hold and soon both opened themselves to the other. Their two tongues started to tangle together and both hummed in content. Jaune gently rubbed his hands up and down the reaper's back, she moaned happily and Jaune gently ran his tongue slowly along her's before gently sucking down on it. She moaned more before they pulled apart from one another.

The two just looked into each other's eyes lovingly. Ruby then giggled, "Does that prove you're not a monster?" she asked cutely.

He looked away slightly, "Just because you don't see me as one, doesn't mean I'm not, Rosebud."

"You're such a dolt." He heard Weiss say before he felt her arms around his chest and her chin rest on his shoulder. "Yes. You may have killed before and yes, you almost went too far with the hooligan. But you're not a murderer or a monster. You killed because you had little choice. You do extreme things to protect the people you love. A monster doesn't do that; they don't show restraint or care or most importantly, love. You have all of that, Jaune, in spades." She gently turned his face to her's and looked into his eyes with a small smile. "No matter what, we'll pull you from this darkness you wish to drown yourself in. Because we all love you too much to let you suffer." She then kissed him lovingly.

Jaune was shocked again but returned it all the same. He brought one of his hands up and gently cupped her cheek. The two kissed for a bit before it evolved into a French kiss. Weiss tightened the grip on his chest and Jaune trailed his hand to the back of her head, gently pulling her closer. Weiss gently moaned her approval of this action. Jaune sucked down on her tongue, just like Ruby's, as she moaned more. The two then broke part and gave each other a light peck before they stared lovingly into the other's eyes.

Jaune turned form her to look at Ruby who had a mild blush from watching what they did. Weiss also gained a mild blush from realizing what they did in front of her. Jaune looked at the two and smiled before he looked down. "Thank you. Both of you. And sorry, I was just afraid I scared you away with what I did back there." He told them honestly.

Ruby just gave him a light kiss on his cheek and he looked back at her. "It's no problem, Jaune. We love you." She smiled her usual cheery smile at him and he returned it. "But if you wanna repay us, I wouldn't mind you kissing me again." She said with her tongue sticking out playfully.

Jaune chuckled a bit, "My pleasure, Rosebud. But are you sure you wanna do that in front of Weiss?" he asked her.

She shook her head, "I don't mind. Besides, if you kiss her as well, it'll be fair. Right, Weiss?" she asked her partner.

Weiss was still slightly embarrassed but thought about it. "I'm not opposed to this idea. I mean, I would be more comfortable doing this with Ruby than any of the others." He knew she was referring to her inexperience and her lack of confidence in the area. "So, if you're okay with it Jaune, we can for a little bit." She added bashfully.

Jaune looked at his two girlfriends and sighed with a small smile. "Who am I to say no?" he then leant forward to capture Ruby's lips again. She smiled at this and returned the pressure. The two separated and reapplied the kiss a few times more. Weiss was gently running her hands over his shoulders, waiting patiently. Jaune soon pulled away from the reaper and turned to give the heiress some attention. They kissed several times repeatedly, she was smiling the entire time. Ruby, meanwhile, just hugged Jaune tighter and was gently rubbing her head against his chest.

This went on for a while, Jaune alternating between the red and white themed girls. The kisses started to get more heated and passion filled as time went on. The girls were practically starving for his lips and all three were flushed from the experience. Jaune pulled away from Weiss' lips again, for the sixth or seventh time already. "Why don't we get more comfortable?" He asked them. "It's getting hot and I'd like to get off the floor." The two girls nodded. Ruby got off his lap and Jaune stood up with a few audible pops from his back. Ruby took her hood off and threw it onto her bunk before taking off her boots. Weiss took off her coat and heels like her partner but was neater with putting them away. Jaune took off his hoodie and put it on one of the chairs at the desks and slid his boots off as well. He turned around to see the two girls laying on Weiss' bunk, waiting for him. He smiled and joined them.

Jaune was laying in the center of the bed with Weiss on his right, closer to the wall, and Ruby on his left. He had an arm around each of them and both looked eager to continue where they left off. Jaune leant over to Weiss to start things off this time. The kiss was deepened almost immediately and the two were soon making out passionately. Weiss was moaning in approval while Ruby busied herself with gently kissing Jaune's cheek and neck. The two pulled apart to breathe and Jaune turned to Ruby to give her the same treatment. She nearly squealed in delight when the kiss quickly became a tongue wrestle. Weiss decided to do the same that Ruby did while waiting and peppered his cheek and neck with light kisses.

This process went on for an unknown amount of time between the three of them. They just wanted to keep living in these moments for the rest of eternity. The girls were craving the kisses more and more, to the point where Jaune was barely able to breathe before the other girl would surge forward to attack his lips. He wasn't complaining in the least and was content. His hands stayed on their back where he placed them, he didn't want to try and let them wander. He knew that these two weren't ready for that, yet, and he didn't want to ruin the good time by making them uncomfortable.

Jaune was in the middle of making out with Ruby when he abruptly pulled away. She was about to complain until he lowered his lips to the left side of her neck. He started to suck down on her neck and she was moaning loudly from it. Jaune gently bit down, gaining a squeal from the rose. He let go and licked the love bite once and gave it a light kiss. He gave her one last loving kiss before he turned to the heiress.

The reengaged in their passionate make-out session while Ruby rested for a bit to regain her composure. After a bit, Jaune pulled away and gently licked the right side of Weiss' neck. She cooed at the contact and started to give breathy moans when Jaune started to suck down on the exact spot. She nearly screamed when Jaune gently bit her neck but soon calmed down when he let go and kissed her new love bite. He gave her one last loving kiss before he pulled away. He just laid there and held his girls close as they were calming down.

He didn't notice that the two shared a look and nodded after coming to a consensus. The two young Huntresses started to kiss the sides of his neck again and he just accepted the treatment. He was shocked to feel them both start to lick their respective side. He soon felt them almost simultaneously suck down on both sides of his neck. The girls shared a look shortly afterwards and they both bit down. Jaune groaned with that and soon he felt them gently kiss the now present love bites. The two looked up at him and he just smiled at them, "That was a surprise." He said, partially out of breath. They giggled with that.

"Well, we needed to give you something in return for ours." Ruby said happily.

"Plus, we can't be the only ones to not mark you." Weiss added with her false professionalism.

Jaune smiled and leant down to kiss Weiss then Ruby one last time. They noticed that it was getting late and all three were getting tired. They decided to hit the hay early with Jaune agreeing to come back to their dorm for the night. Jaune went to his dorm to change into his nightwear and sent a message to his team telling them where he was going to be for the night. He went back to their dorm to find them already in their sleepwear. They all laid down in Weiss' bed again, in the same position as before. The girls rested their heads on his shoulders and Jaune held them close. "Good night, you two. I love you, Ruby. I love you, Weiss."

"I love you too, Jaune." Ruby said before she yawned adorably.

"I love you, my Knight." Weiss stated before slowly falling asleep.

Jaune soon followed their lead. It wasn't even an hour later when Blake and Yang came back to their dorm to find the new sight in front of them. The two looked at each other stunned before the smiled and shrugged. They walked over and Yang gently stroked his hair before she kissed his forehead. Blake did the same as her partner and as they turned to their bunks they heard him mumble in his sleep, "I love you." The two looked at each other before giggling then changing and going to bed as well.


	71. Settling the Score

Jaune woke up the next morning to staring up at Ruby's bunk bed. He looked down to see Ruby and Weiss still cuddled up to him. Ruby was still on his left, she had her left hand over his stomach while her head was over his chest to listen to his heart and she was adorably nibbling on his tank top, again. 'Why does she always eat my clothes when we cuddle?' He thought to himself as he smiled. He gave her a kiss to the forehead and she snuggled up to him more. He looked to his right and saw that Weiss was in a similar position, she had her right hand resting on his chest and her head was resting on his shoulder. She had a content smile on her face. He smiled more, 'She looks radiant when she is at peace.' He kissed her head gently and her smile got a bit bigger before she cuddled him more.

He laid there and thought back to the day before and frowned. They would inevitably run into more obstacles like yesterday. 'No matter what, I'll be there to help or protect them.' He thought to himself and subconsciously pulled them closer.

"Jaune? What's wrong?" he heard a voice.

He turned his head to his left and saw Blake looking at him in concern. He looked up slightly to see that Yang was doing something similar on her bunk. He gave them a small smile. "Nothing much. Just thinking." He said in a low voice to not wake up the two girls sleeping on him.

"You sure? Whatever it was, didn't make you look too happy." Yang added.

Jaune looked down at the red and white pair in his arms before he closed his eyes for a second, 'I have enough secrets right now.' He opened his eyes and sighed before he turned back to the black and yellow pair. "A lot happened yesterday." He started.

He then proceeded to tell Blake and Yang about his little meeting with Winter and that she gave them her support. They were happy with that but their moods soured when he continued. He told them how that Haven student tried to force himself on Ruby, how he nearly lost control and how they came back to the room to get away. Jaune was looking down at the two again as he finished. "We decided that I'd stay here for the night. I think the three of us would've been too worried about the other if we were separated."

He looked back over to see that Blake was livid, her ears were against her head and he could swear he heard her growl. Yang soon dropped to the floor and started to walk over to him. She had an unreadable expression on her face. She stopped right beside the bed and stared at him. Jaune wasn't sure what she was thinking or what she was going to do. She then knelt down and wrapped him in a hug without disturbing Weiss or Ruby. She then kissed Jaune, it was the most loving kiss she had given to him. Jaune closed his eyes and returned it; he would've held her close but with his current position, that wasn't possible. They separated shortly after and she rested her forehead against his. She looked deeply into his eyes, "Thank you for protecting her." She said simply.

Jaune just nodded slightly, "I'll always protect her, Yang. Just like I'll always be there to protect you, if you ever need it." He told her seriously.

She gave him a smile before she hugged him again and moved her lips to his ear and whispered, "Now there is no way you're getting out of this. I'm going to show you the most amazing night of your life, Jauney." She said in a sultry tone and nibbled his earlobe.

Jaune's eyes went wide at that. He could tell she was serious but, unlike every time before, he didn't feel hesitant. He felt ready and if she was too, why not? He wanted his first to be with someone he loved. He took a deep breath and turned his head slightly so his lips were next to her ear. "How about after the festival is over?" he whispered seriously. Yang pulled back in shock and looked into his eyes. She wasn't sure if he was trying to tease her or not. But she could see it, he was serious and it made her heart flutter. She smiled widely and nodded to him and he just smiled in return.

They just looked at each other lovingly until the moment was ruined, "You two do remember I have amazing hearing, right?" The two blondes blushed and slowly turned to Blake, who had a teasing smile on her face. "I won't say anything to the others, promise." She said that and the two sighed in relief. "But, I want…to be your next partner, Jaune." They turned to her in shock and she was looking away with a blush. "I don't mean right after or even the next night. But, I'm sure I'm ready for that and I want you to be my first as well." She was saying bashfully.

Jaune swallowed slightly but gave her a small smile, "If you think I'm worthy of that honor, then I will, Kitten. But, I don't want you to feel pressured by this whole thing."

She looked at him and nodded, "I know and I am ready. I have been for a while but I wanted it to feel right. But, being with you would be the only way I would want it to happen." She told him with a loving smile.

Jaune just returned the smile with as much love. "Then you have a deal."

Yang gave him a teasing smirk, "You really are a lady killer, Jauney. Two beautiful girls are practically throwing themselves at you."

Jaune had a slight blush before he looked at her with a loving smile, "I don't care how many women 'throw' themselves at me. As long as I have the women I love at the end of the day, that's all I need."

Yang and Blake both blushed with that, "You are so corny." Yang said, "So, why does it make me so happy?" Yang asked.

Jaune just shrugged, "Because you know I mean every word." He then looked down at the two girls in his arms. "Should probably wake these two now." He gently shook both of them. "Ruby. Weiss. Time to get up."

The two girls whined and pulled themselves closer into Jaune, "Too early." Ruby said tiredly. "Five more minutes." Weiss added to that.

Jaune smirked evilly, "Okay girls, you can sleep." They sighed in content before he continued. "I'll just let Zwei keep chewing on Crescent Rose."

As soon as he said that, Ruby bolted out of Weiss' bed with her Semblance to grab Zwei, who was sleeping on the floor. "Leave my Sweetheart alone!" she shouted at the corgi with a glare. Zwei just tilted his head at his owner in confusion before he yawned. Ruby's tired mind looked from the tired pup to the spot where she scooped him up to Jaune, who had the biggest smirk ever. Yang was looking at her little sister with her usual grin while Weiss was still lying next to Jaune and giving her partner a glare for waking her up. Her mind finally connected the dots. She dropped Zwei and glared at her boyfriend. "Jaune."

"Yes, Rosebud?" he asked in return.

"Why would you lie to me about my Sweetheart?" she asked with a slight edge.

Jaune looked up to the ceiling, pretending to think before he looked back at her and answered, "How else would I get you up?" he answered with a smirk.

Next thing he knows, the red reaper is sitting on him, practically straddling him with her hands gripping the front of his shirt, like she was going to throttle him. She was giving him an almost murderous glare, "You don't ever joke about that!" she shouted at him.

Jaune just smirked at her, "And if I do?" he teased.

She lowered he face closer to his and practically growled, "You'll regret it."

Jaune just looked into her eyes and smiled, "Maybe." Was all he said before he put his left hand on the back of her head and pulled her in for a loving kiss. Ruby was shocked and she was still mad at Jaune but she couldn't resist the kiss. Kissing Jaune was now one of her favorite things in the world. She soon caved and melted into the kiss. Jaune was gently massaging her scalp as they kissed and she hummed in pleasure. Soon the two parted and they just looked into each other's eyes. Jaune smiled, "Still mad at me?"

She blushed slightly and turned away slightly, "You are such a cheater." She mumbled.

Jaune just placed his forehead against her's and the two just sat like that for a bit. Until they heard a cough, "You two do remember that you're in my bed and that our whole team is here, right?"

They pulled apart and Ruby blushed profusely. Jaune smiled at her and turned to the annoyed heiress. "She probably did but I didn't. Besides, you didn't seem against me and Ruby kissing on your bed last night, Snow Angel."

Weiss blushed, "That was just a one time thing and we didn't have so many witnesses." Before she could do anything else, Jaune captured her lips and she had a surprised look on her face. She tried to push him away in embarrassment but he had his arm still around her and refused to let her go. Weiss soon gave up on her struggle and just enjoyed the kiss, even if she was embarrassed.

Jaune pulled away and gently moved a lock of her hair behind her ear, "You're adorable when your flustered." Weiss just blushed more and the RBY of RWBY just had teasing smiles. Jaune soon sighed, "Well, as much as I'm enjoying my time with you girls, me and Pyrrha have a fight this morning." He soon got off the bed and made his way to the door. He stopped at the door, "Oh, wait. Nearly forgot."

The girls were confused until he went over to Blake, who was still sitting on her bed, and leant down to give her, her own loving kiss. Blake immediately returned it and wrapped her arms around his neck. They soon parted and Jaune gently patted between her ears and as she was purring, he spoke, "I can never forget my Kitten." He said lovingly. Blake gave him a light peck before he finally left RWBY's dorm to make his way to his own.

As soon a she entered his dorm, Nora was practically on him and asking him a million questions. Ren was nearby just watching the normal scene play out. Pyrrha left the bathroom a few minutes later, dressed in her combat gear. She saw Jaune and smiled at him, "Morning, Jaune. Did you have good night?"

Jaune nodded and walked over to her, "It was pretty good. How was yours?" he asked.

"Mine was pretty good. But I kind of missed you." She said bashfully.

Jaune hugged her close and smiled more at her, "Well, I'm here now. You ready for today?" he asked rhetorically.

She smiled more at him, "Always." Was all she said before they kissed each other. When they separated, Jaune went to shower himself and dressed in his combat gear. JNPR met up with RWBY and they went to the cafeteria to grab breakfast before they made their way to the Amity Colosseum. RWBY and JNPR sat next to Velvet and Fox and waited for Coco's and Yatsuhashi's fight to begin. Eventually they saw Coco and Yatsu standing across Mercury and Emerald. Jaune gave a sigh, "I hope they knock the smug look off his face."

"Don't worry." He turned to Velvet, "Those two are our heavy hitters, no way they can lose."

Jaune nodded with her point. They all watched the fight and were shocked to see that Mercury and Emerald were completely dominating the fight. It eventually ended with Mercury taking out Yatsu and Emerald dealing with Coco. The two just smirked at each other and Mercury turned and locked eyes with Jaune. He smirked more and pointed to Jaune, all but saying, 'You're next.' Jaune just sent him a glare before motioning him to, 'Bring it on.' The field was eventually cleared and Velvet seemed depressed with her teammates losing but Fox offered some comfort by placing his hand on her shoulder. They were brought from their thoughts when they heard Port over the speakers, "Will the next teams head to the arena!" Jaune stood up with Pyrrha, "Wish us luck." He said with a smile.

"Oh please, like you two have anything to worry about." Yang said. "You better not lose or you'll get it. Understand?" Yang threatened hollowly.

Jaune rolled his eyes, "Crystal. Same goes for you two." He said to Yang and Weiss before the two headed to the lockers to grab their gear. Jaune placed his swords on his back and pulled his earth dust crystal from his locker. He looked at it for a second before he shrugged and pocketed it. He closed his locker and walked over to his partner, "Let's do this." He said cheerfully. The two made their way out to the arena and waited for their opponents. When they did show up, Jaune just gained a deadpan expression, "You've got to be kidding me." Is all he said before he facepalmed.

Their opponent turned out to be Kuro and a female member from his team. He was still wearing his usual attire but now he had a chokutō. He had that smug look on his face before he spoke, "This must be destiny. To be reunited with my beloved."

The roulette started as Port announced the fighters, "Shiro and Kuro of Haven, versus Jaune and Pyrrha of Beacon!"

Jaune removed his hand from his face to give him a death glare. "So much as try to touch her and I'll rip that appendage off."

Kuro looked over to Jaune with an unamused look, "A plebian, like you, has no right to stand in a God's way."

Jaune snorted, "Really? I remember last time I kicked your ass. If I'm a plebian, what does that make you?"

Kuro looked angry with that, "Don't let that go to your head. I wasn't even using my full capabilities against you."

"Really?" Jaune asked and Kuro nodded with a smirk. Jaune gained his own grin as he continued, "Good thing I wasn't either."

Kuro was about to continue but he was slapped in the back of his head by his teammate. She was a head shorter then Kuro and she had a well-maintained physique, a good amount of muscle but not overly muscled. She was wearing a long sleeved white kimono-shirt with yellow highlights and black pants. She wore black sandals and had bandages wrapped around her fingers, hands and partially up her forearms. She was fair skinned with long silver hair that reached the middle of her back, and light lavender eyes. "Enough, Kuro, you're just going to embarrass yourself." She sighed before she looked at them with an apologetic look. "Sorry about him. He really let this 'God of Victory' thing go to his head. My cousin is actually a good guy once you get to know him." Kuro huffed and turned away.

They looked at the two confused, "Cousin?" Pyrrha asked.

She nodded, "Yup. Our fathers are actually twin brothers and by some miracle we ended up on the same team, me being the leader. Oh, how rude of me." She made a quick bow, "My name is Shiro, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." Pyrrha and Jaune replied, not sure on what else to say.

With that, the forest, geyser, urban and desert fields were selected. As the stage was set, all four of them got into their stances: Kuro held his sheathe and had his hand on his sword in a Iaido stance, Shiro dropped into a martial arts stance that had her palms facing her opponents, instead of her fists, Pyrrha had Akouo ready and Milo in its xiphos form and finally, Jaune dropped into his stance and drew Raikiri as his eyes shifted to yellow. Ports voice soon rang out, "Three, two, one, begin!"

* * *

 **A/N- Sorry about the short chapter but writer's block is a bitch. Next chapter will focus on the fight. Hope you all understand.  
**


	72. Rematch- Swordsman vs God

As soon as the match began, Jaune charged forward in a burst of lightning, directly towards Kuro. Jaune noticed his eyes were glowing red, he was already using his Semblance, he took a step to his left and stayed in his Iaido stance. When Jaune was almost on top of him, Kuro drew his blade at incredible speed. Luckily, Jaune knew about this stance and was able to just block the his chokutō with Raikiri. Kuro grinned before Jaune used his speed to take them into the desert field directly behind Kuro.

Pyrrha was about to follow them but she was intercepted by Shiro. She went for a palm strike to her head but Pyrrha was able to dodge it. She countered with a slash with Milo but Shiro jumped back before charging forward and go for another palm strike to her stomach. Pyrrha was able to bring up Akouo in time but Shiro released aura with her strike and sent Pyrrha skidding backwards into the geyser field behind her. Shiro took off after her to continue her assault.

* * *

Jaune was pushing Kuro further into the desert field before they stopped with their blades still locked. "I'm surprised you predicted my sword slash." Kuro said as they stopped.

"My master used the same style. I honestly just guessed where you'd aim." Jaune told him. "Guess you're taking this seriously, since you're using your Semblance so blatantly."

Kuro smirked, "Your speed is amazing, I'll give you that. But this fight is still mine." Kuro spun his body for a roundhouse aimed at Jaune's head. Jaune jumped back and quickly shot off in another burst of lightning. He moved to Kuro's right and aimed a slash for his shoulder. Kuro quickly spun and blocked it. Jaune pulled back and shot off again. He tried to hit Kuro in the stomach from his left but again he blocked it. Jaune shot off once again and went for a slash to his back but Kuro spun with his own slash, which Jaune was forced to block.

The two were now in a power struggle. Jaune was confused. 'How can he keep up with me? I've been moving into his blind spot every time.'

Kuro chuckled, "Confused?" he asked. "Let me explain. When you chose this field, you pushed this battle more into my favor." Jaune was still confused. "Every time you use your speed, you kick up a lot of sand. I'm able to see the direction of the sand with my Semblance and figure out your trajectory. Then I just need to adjust my perception of time and when you appear, I can block or counter you."

Jaune's eyes widened slightly, "Clever." Jaune quickly jumped back and shot an arc of lightning at him. Kuro just barely dodged it but quickly drew his sword as he did, a blade of air came flying at him. Jaune quickly dodged it but as soon as he landed, another was already on its way and tearing up the sand in its way. Jaune rolled out of the way and saw Kuro quickly sheathe and draw his sword at an unfathomable speed. Jaune brought up Raikiri to block the air blade but it pushed him back into the rock structure. Jaune lost some aura with that. He saw Kuro send another air blade at him and quickly used his aura to jump behind the giant rock. He saw the blade slice cleanly into the rock. Jaune was reigning in his breathing with that. "He really was holding back before."

Jaune had his back leant against the top of the rock structure as he tried to think of what to do. "Done already?" He heard Kuro say arrogantly. "Let me educate you a bit. My Arashi sheathe half compresses the air within it when I sheathe the chokutō half. All I have to do is draw my blade fast enough to send that compressed air at my target." He announced smugly.

Jaune just rolled his eyes. 'He talks too much.' He thought to himself. 'But that is helpful. So, his Semblance amplifies his close combat and his weapon helps with people at a distance, clever.' Jaune closed his eyes and tried to focus on what to do about this. 'Better stick to lightning for now, I can have him burn aura by constantly using his Semblance to keep up with me. I may have to use another element to even the odds and keep up the pressure. Better not use wind, he can out do my air blades with his own and he won't have to worry about aura or dust. Water would be disadvantageous in this desert. So, fire or earth then.' He shifted slightly and felt the earth dust crystal in his pocket. He pulled it out of his pocket and his eyes widened. He ginned, "That'll work."

* * *

Pyrrha was having some difficulty dealing with Shiro. She had very little metal on her, so Pyrrha couldn't use her Semblance the way she usually would during a fight. She looked like she didn't even use a weapon. She just kept fighting with a martial art that was similar to Ren's. She would strike at her with her palms or fingers but wouldn't really use her legs. All her attacks were filled with aura and would do a lot of damage if not for her shield. She was very unorthodox opponent.

The two were now a good distance apart and circling each other, waiting for the right moment. They heard Kuro yelling in the distance and Shiro just sighed. "He is such an idiot."

Pyrrha smirked a bit. "Is he always like that?"

She nodded, "Yup. He's starting to annoy all of us. Not to mention, he loves to go on and on about his abilities. Especially his Semblance."

"So, your different. Won't tell me all your secrets." Pyrrha asked jokingly.

Shiro shook her head, "Nope. But I'll tell you a little. My Semblance is like my cousin's, we think it's because our fathers are twins. While his eyesight is almost microscopic, mine is telescopic. With a little x-ray if I push it." Shiro's eyes started to glow light lavender before she stopped and quickly slammed an aura fueled palm into the ground. The stone around her collapsed inwards. Pyrrha was confused until she heard the geysers erupt furiously behind her. Pyrrha was distracted and Shiro flung her left palm outwards as she was still kneeling on the ground. She released her aura and a blast of wind pushed Pyrrha into the geyser. Pyrrha used her shield to try to defend herself but she still took some damage.

Pyrrha hit the ground and quickly rolled into a crouch. Shiro was quickly running at her. Pyrrha shifted Milo into its rifle form with Akouo in front of her. She took aim but Shiro was moving serpentine towards her. She noticed her eyes were still glowing light lavender. 'She can see what I'm doing, even from this distance.' She thought. Pyrrha quickly fired a few shots, that missed, before she charged forward with Akouo in front of her and Milo in its javelin form.

* * *

Kuro was getting annoyed. Jaune still hadn't shown himself and it was grating on his nerves. Suddenly, four huge rocks shot off from the structure that Jaune was now standing on top of. Kuro quickly used his Semblance to alter his perception of time and started to draw his sword repeatedly. He sent a series of air blades that destroyed the rocks but left a dust screen in front of him. With his Semblance still active, he saw many smaller rocks coming through it in a volley. He quickly started to send his air blades again but soon stopped. He saw a dust crystal glowing and in the center of the volley. 'If I hit that, it'll most likely cause a chain reaction.' He thought. He dove forward and the volley flew harmlessly over him.

When he rolled back to his feet, he saw Jaune fly at him with his sword at the ready. He quickly sent an air blade at him with Arashi but Jaune countered it with an arc of lightning. The attacks collided in midair before both faded out of existence. Jaune's blade collided with Kuro's and the impact kicked up a lot of sand. When it settled, they were in another power struggle. Kuro grinned at him, "Nice try but did you really think I would hit that dust crystal?"

Jaune returned his grin, "I was hoping you wouldn't. That would ruin my plan." Kuro was confused and now noticed that Jaune had his left eye closed. "Do you know what happens when an active earth dust crystal meets sand?" Kuro's eyes widened and looked over his shoulder to see that the earth dust crystal had hit one of the rocks and its energy was being released, turning the sand around it to stone. The sand below them was doing the same until a good seven-foot radius from the crystal was now rock. "Time to tip the scales in my favor." Was all Jaune said as he opened his left eye, revealing it to be brown now.

Jaune quickly released electricity from Raikiri, causing Kuro to disengage. Jaune stomped his foot on the ground, which shot a stone out of the ground at Kuro. He deflected it with his blade as Jaune burst off behind him to slash him across the back. Kuro yelled out in pain and swung his chokutō at his head. Jaune avoided the attack and quickly sent two more rocks at Kuro. He was forced to dodge it and Jaune capitalized it by slashing him across his left leg.

Jaune was able use this method to score two more hits on Kuro, his right shoulder and right leg, before his dust ran out in Raikiri. Jaune jumped back and quickly grabbed a lightning dust clip to reload. Kuro tried to charge Jaune but he quickly slammed his foot down, causing rocks from directly in front of them to fire upwards. Kuro flipped backwards and growled in annoyance. "Enough of this!" he shouted. He got into his Iaido stance and drew Arashi a few inches before sheathing it. It did this several times over at the same incredible speed before he stopped and sent his crimson aura into the sheathe. He locked eyes with Jaune before he fully drew his sword. Instead of a blade of air, it was an entire wall of air that blasted Jaune backwards, completely out of the desert field and into the urban field right next to it.

* * *

The battle was starting to turn in Pyrrha's favor. She was getting used to Shiro's fighting style. She was currently using the explosions of Milo's javelin form to stab at her repeatedly, causing her to backpedal. Shiro avoided another jab from Milo but Pyrrha shield bashed her, sending her flying back. Shiro regained her footing but had to jump into the air when Pyrrha threw Milo at her. Milo was then impaled into the rocks behind her.

Shiro was in the air and halfway through a backflip when she reached behind her to the back of her belt. When she landed on her feet she was bringing her arms forward and Pyrrha noticed she now had silver bracers over the bandages on her arms before her sleeves covered them completely. Before she could wonder about them, Shiro shot her left palm out and another blast of wind was sent towards her.

Pyrrha raised her shield to block it and spun to avoid most of the impact before grabbing Milo again. When she stopped, she felt something wrap around her right ankle. She looked down to see a metal whip with a metal head that was like a snake head. She looked up to see it traveling up into Shiro's left sleeve and she realized it was from the bracer. Shiro quickly pulled and Pyrrha's leg was pulled out right from under her. She landed on her back and was then pulled over to Shiro, who hit her in the stomach with an aura palm. Pyrrha had the air knocked out of her and was sent flying when the whip came undone.

Pyrrha landed in a heap and was slowly standing up when she saw Shiro send two whips at her, one from each bracer, which caused Pyrrha to roll out of the way. She shifted Milo into its rifle form again before she fired at Shiro while lying on the ground. Was forced to dodge them before charging at Pyrrha with her whips again. Pyrrha go to her feet and started to charge at Shiro, as well. She was trying to keep an eye for both whips. Shiro swung her left arm and surprisingly, four metal whips came from her sleeve. Pyrrha spun with her shield to defend herself but as she did, Shiro shot her other arm forwards and four more metal whips shot forward from her right sleeve. Each struck home on her upper back and caused her to fall to the ground. Pyrrha slowly stood up and saw the whips retreating into her sleeves. "Sorry about that, but you forced me to use my Orochi." She said slightly out of breath.

Pyrrha new she needed to stack the odds back into her favor and quickly retreated into the forest field with Shiro right behind her.

* * *

Jaune had just collided with the ruins of a building in the urban field and was now on the ground. He shook his head and slowly stood up, "Okay, that one hurt." He said as he popped his neck. He looked to see that Kuro was running towards him. Jaune brought his left hand up and quickly drew Dokiri before charging as well. The two soon met and were slashing at each other at amazing speeds. Kuro was still using his Semblance, so Jaune was having difficulty breaking through his defenses. But he was finding ways to get a few through Jaune's defenses. The two broke apart and Jaune was breathing harder than he was.

"Looks like you're running out of steam." Kuro said with that damn smug look. "I'll wrap this up and help out Shiro. And finally, prove to my beloved that I am her perfect match."

Jaune growled slightly and glared at him, "Get it through your head! She wants nothing to do with you and she's in a relationship already!"

Kuro raised an eyebrow, "With who? You?" he laughed at that. "Please, what are you compared to me. You are nothing and will always be nothing."

Jaune's aura exploded from him, it was a mix of yellow and brown, and Kuro took half a step back. Jaune was just glaring at him. "You know what? I usually only use this in life or death situations but I'm gonna make an exception this one time. How dare you spit on all my work and training. And my feelings for Pyrrha!" Jaune quickly started to weave the surging lightning into the crushing earth in his aura. When it was complete, his aura shifted to orange and a huge explosion erupted from it. The explosion sent debris at Kuro and he had to jump away from it. When he looked back, Jaune was standing there with a longsword with the edges of the blade and circuits glowing orange and his eyes the same color, "Shatter, Bakukiri!"

Jaune swung downwards and when the tip of the blade contacted the ground, a trail of explosions started towards Kuro. Kuro was too stunned and barely dove out of the way. When he got back to his feet, Jaune was already on him with a backhand swing with his sword. Kuro used his Semblance and quickly brought up Arashi to block it. But again, on contact, an explosion was created and sent him flying into a ruined building.

* * *

Shiro was cautiously walking through the forest field, looking for any sign of the Goddess of Victory. She was using her Semblance's full power, which let her see almost three hundred sixty degrees around her for about six feet. She was running low on aura and couldn't take the risk of getting snuck up on. She had Orochi ready to strike at anything that may come her way.

Pyrrha, meanwhile, was in one of the trees and waiting for Shiro to show up. She soon saw Shiro and waited for her to get into position. When she was, Pyrrha quickly threw Akouo at her. Shiro quickly spun and barely knocked it away with the whips on her right hand. Pyrrha then fired all her remaining bullets at her. Shiro used her left whips to impale a tree and drag her away from the bullets. Pyrrha used this opportunity to jump down on her with Milo now in xiphos form. Shiro saw her and quickly sent her right whips directly at her. Pyrrha waited until the last second, before she spun enough for them to miss and grab a hold of one of the whips with her left hand, quickly using her Polarity on it.

Shiro tore her left whips from the tree and sent them at Pyrrha in a powerful lash. Pyrrha shifted Milo into her javelin form to block them while she was sending her Polarity through the one whip and into the bracer. When she felt that it was finally done, she was practically on top of Shiro and went to stab at her. She quickly rolled backwards and pulled her whips back to the bracers. Pyrrha was already charging at her with her xiphos and that galvanized her into throwing her right whips at her. Pyrrha quickly used her Polarity to shift her arm so they barely missed her head. Shiro was shocked but that was all she could do before Pyrrha performed a series of slashes that dropped her into the red. The buzzer sounded and Pyrrha sighed in relief."And with that, Shiro has been eliminated." Oobleck announced.

"I wonder how Jaune's doing?" she asked out loud until she heard an explosion. "Oh dear."

* * *

Kuro was slowly getting back to his feet as Jaune charged at him with a punch. Kuro crossed his arms to stop it but Jaune channeled his Semblance through it and created an explosion that send him flying. He managed to stay on his feet and heard the buzzer. He looked over to the display and saw that Shiro was eliminated as Oobleck confirmed the fact. He looked back to Jaune in disbelief and Jaune just spoke coldly, "I would quit if I was you."

Kuro just growled and quickly started to send air blades at Jaune. Jaune just stared at him and released an explosion from his entire body to blow them away. He also used the energy from the explosion to send him flying into the air. At the top of his jump, Jaune reangled himself directly at Kuro. 'This is gonna hurt both of us.' He shot himself forward with his aura and an explosion. Kuro tried to send a series of air blades at him but Jaune threw a rock he was holding at Kuro and it exploded on contact with the ground, due to Jaune sending energy into it right before throwing it. The explosion knocked him off balance. When he was on steady legs again, Jaune was about to slam his sword into him. Kuro started to pour aura into the sheathe of Arashi. He released the wall of air and it met Jaune's sword, creating a massive explosion.

The whole urban field was covered in dust and smoke. The whole audience was in a stunned silence, including RWBY and the remaining members of JNPR. "Well, it looks like that attack may have ended this fight!" Port announced.

"I wouldn't jump to any conclusions, Peter." Oobleck added. "Both competitors still have aura and there is no ring out."

When the dust finally settled Jaune and Kuro were both barely standing across from each other. Both had mild burns, bruises and cuts, with both just above the red for aura. Jaune slowly took his longsword into both his hands and separated it into the two short swords before sheathing them.

"What? Giving…up?" Kuro said tiredly.

Jaune just shook his head, his eyes back to their usual blue "No. But I... only have enough... for one attack. You?"

Kuro was silent before he sighed, "Yeah, same. Plus, I can't use my air blades for a while or my Semblance."

"So, one last attack? Winner take all?" Jaune offered.

Kuro thought for a second and attached Arashi to his belt. "Winner take all." He nodded.

The two locked eyes and started to send the last of their auras into their right fists. Kuro's was glowing red while Jaune's was white. The two just kept staring at each other, until a ruined building finally collapsed. Both fighters ran at each other, giving battle cries as they did. They met in the middle and both threw the punch to hit the left side of each other's head. It seemed like time was frozen as the buzzer sounded, neither one moved for what felt like an eternity. Jaune then stumbled forward. Kuro smiled before his eyes rolled back and he fell backwards. Jaune stumbled forward again but stayed on his feet and forced himself to stand straight with his right fist held above his head. The whole Coliseum erupted in cheers with that.

"And with that, Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos win the match!" Port announced.

Jaune smiled slightly and started to wobble on his feet as he heard Pyrrha shouting his name. He turned tiredly and saw her running to him. She caught him as he stumbled and pulled him into a hug. He weakly returned it. She looked up at him with an annoyed look, "Why must you always do crazy stunts like this."

Jaune just smiled and gently cupped her cheek with his right hand. "I'll do anything to prove my love for you, Pyrrha."

She blushed before she pulled him down to give him a kiss that stunned him before he kissed her back. The crowd was stunned silent again before more cheers were issued from the crowd. Although, RWBY were mildly annoyed by the act but cheered none the less. The guys from CRDL and SSSN, along with his honorary siblings were whistling and cheering as well.

Besides that, one woman with burning eyes was just watching, "So, that's who is precious to you, my dear Jaune. This will be interesting." Cinder smiled evilly before leaving the stands.

* * *

 **A/N- Hope this was what you all were hoping for. Next chapter is one I've been looking forward to writing for such along time. Hope your all ready for it!  
**


	73. Legends and Destiny

Jaune was sitting in the medical bay in the Amity Coliseum. He was brought there by Pyrrha to make sure he was okay after using his Advance Element. He was alright, besides that his left hand had a few cracked bones. The explosive punch he used did a number on his hand but he didn't feel it due to his aura and adrenaline. But it was aching now. The Elemental Feedback for Explosion was that sometimes his aura couldn't protect his body fully from the explosions he created. So, Jaune was sitting in a chair while the medic was finishing wrapping his hand up.

Pyrrha was sitting across from him, giving him a glare for hurting himself. Jaune chose to ignore her for a bit. He really didn't want to have this discussion, again. Soon the medic was done and handed Jaune a couple pain killers, "There you go, Mr. Arc. Take it easy and it'll heal in no time. But, this means you won't be able to fight in the singles round." He informed the blonde.

Jaune swallow the pills with a glass of water before he spoke up, "Wasn't planning on it, Doc. It should be healed in a day or two, anyways." The Medic looked confused. "I've had this happen before." He said simply.

The medic nodded, "I will believe you." He said with a small smile, "You're free to leave and enjoy the rest of the fights."

Jaune stood up and smiled, "Thanks." Jaune left with Pyrrha. As they were going back to their seats, she was still glaring at him. Jaune sighed, "Do we have to do this again?"

"We wouldn't have to if you listened to me." She said annoyed and slightly angry.

"Pyrrha, I'm sorry but this is part of who I am. I'll risk anything and everything for what I believe in." He looked her in the eyes.

They looked into each other's eyes for a while before she sighed, "Why did I fall in love with you?" she asked rhetorically.

Jaune shrugged, "No idea. You could do way better." He took a step back so the slap she was aiming for the back of his head would miss. "And I've had enough of that, thank you." He pulled her close in a side hug and kissed her cheek. "Love you." He said with a smile.

Pyrrha blushed and sighed, "I love you too."

The two finally made it to their seats with their team and RWBY. They sat down and Nora wrapped him in a bear hug, "That was awesome, Jaune!"

He just ruffled her hair, "Thank you, Nora."

Ren looked him over, "So, what's the damage?" he asked seriously.

Jaune just held up his left hand, "Few cracked bones. Should be good in a day or two."

Ren nodded at that but soon Yang joined the conversation, "Ah man, that sucks. You won't be able to be in the singles round." She said sadly.

Jaune looked over to her with a smirk, "I wasn't going to be in it regardless, Sun Fire." RWBY was all stunned by that. "I hate the limelight and I've shown off enough for a lifetime. Besides, Pyrrha has more experience with tournament style fighting anyways." He jerked his thumb at the gladiator who smiled. "My specialty is Grimm, so unless they show up here, I'm just going to relax."

With that the next match started and the two teams went about watching them. Jaune enjoyed them thoroughly and was surprised to see the orange hair girl from the docks fighting against Russel and Sky. And by fight, he meant completely destroying them. He whistled with that. 'Hopefully, I'm on her good side by being Ruby's boyfriend.' He thought. When she eventually won, Ruby excitedly got up and was about to meet up with them, when she turned to Jaune, "Jaune, you have to meet Penny!" she said excitedly.

Jaune smiled and stood up, "Anything for you, Rosebud."

She then took his none broken hand and dragged him to where Penny and her partner were. When they did, Ruby spread her arms out and shouted, "Penny!"

The orange hair girl turned around and excitedly shouted back, "Ruby!" Before she ran at the reaper and jumped into her arms, which brought them down to the ground. He then heard his girlfriend groaning out weakly, "Why…"

Jaune chuckled before smiling down at her, "I think that is karma for all the times you did that to me, Rosebud." He then helped the two girls up. Ruby pouted at him and he just hugged her and kissed the top of her head. She smiled with that.

Penny was looking between the two of them, confused. "Ruby, is this your boyfriend?"

Ruby gained a smile full of pride, "Yup. This is Jaune, my best friend turned boyfriend." She introduced him.

Jaune smiled and held out his right hand, "Nice to finally meet you. You know, without being busy with fighting for our lives."

Penny took his hand and smiled back at him. "Salutations! It's nice to meet you too. Since you are Ruby's boyfriend, does this mean we can be friends?"

Jaune nodded, "I don't see why not."

Penny looked overjoyed with that, "Sensational!" She had a big smile before it fell and she leant over to Ruby. "You didn't tell him, did you?" she said quietly.

They two looked at Jaune and he just raised an eyebrow. "If you told Ruby a secret, you have nothing to worry about. I don't pry and everyone is entitled to having a secret or two."

Penny sighed at that, "Oh right. Ruby, Jaune, I'd like you to meet my teammate." She indicated the girl behind her.

"Ciel Soleil." She said with a bow. "Penny, I believe it is best if we move on to our next location."

Penny looked from her to Ruby before speaking, "Could we have just a minute?"

Ciel checked her watch before stepping back and nodding. Ruby looked at Jaune and he just nodded, getting the hint. He kissed her forehead before looking to Penny, "Nice to meet you, Penny. Don't forget Weiss and Yang's fight is next, Rosebud." Was all he said as he walked away to give them privacy.

Jaune went back to his seat with Ruby showing up not so long afterwards. Soon Yang and Weiss went down for their match. Jaune was getting annoyed that one of their opponents, Flynt Coal, was trying to blame Weiss for her Father's problems. But that paled in comparison to how pissed Yang was getting with Neon Katt insulting how she looked. The match was heated and both opponents were giving the yellow and white pair a run for their money. It eventually came to a head when Weiss was able to knock herself out along with Flynt. Yang was able to finish off Neon with her Semblance, securing their spot in the singles round.

Jaune eventually found himself running out with Blake and Ruby to check on Weiss. "You okay, Snow Angel?" he asked as he knelt down.

She nodded and coughed before speaking in a raspy voice, "Yes. But my throat might be damaged from the smoke."

Jaune sighed before smiling, "Don't worry, I have a cure for that." He then picked up Weiss in a bridal carry with a smirk, "Up you go, my fair lady." Weiss blushed redder than Ruby's cloak and tried to get him to put her down. Jaune ignored her and the other three girls just giggled at the embarrassed heiress. He eventually took her to the locker rooms and sat her down on the bench. She was still embarrassed and was about to give him a piece of her mind but before she could, he gently placed a finger on her lips. She looked up at him, "Why don't you wait until your throat feels better before you bite my head off?"

She stared at him before she nodded. Jaune took his finger away and looked to Ruby, "Would you mind getting me a glass of water?" Before he knew it, Ruby vanished and was back with a glass filled with water. He took it and gently rubbed her head, which caused her to smile. He then activated his water Semblance and pushed it to Stage Two. As his right eye was glowing, he focused on the glass of water and soon it was glowing a dull blue. His eye stopped glowing but the water was still shining. He smiled before handing the glass to Weiss.

She looked at the glass before looking back at Jaune. He just nodded. She then brought the glass to her lips and started to drink it. As she was doing so, she felt her throat getting warm, almost burning. She finished the glass and coughed a bit. The burning sensation was gone and she was about to question Jaune, when she felt her throat was no longer sore. She cleared her throat and tried to speak, "What did you do?" she asked with her voice back to normal.

Jaune just chuckled, "Nothing much. I just put my aura into the water and when you drank it, it transferred some of my aura's healing properties to you. Not a miracle drug but my aura boosting your own was enough to heal most, if not all the damage the smoke caused."

Weiss was shocked by what he did. Mostly because she had no idea he could do that. She then stood up and walked over to him to give him a kiss, which he returned. They pulled apart and she smiled at him, "Thank you, Jaune." He smiled before she flicked him in the forehead, "And that is for embarrassing me." She said slightly annoyed.

Jaune looked up to the ceiling with a faux thoughtful expression. He shrugged before looking back to her with a smile, "Worth it." Weiss sighed at that, slightly annoyed. Jaune chuckled before he turned to Yang who was being unusually quiet. He walked up to her and pulled her into a hug from behind. She jumped at the contact, "You feeling alright?"

She nodded, "Yeah. But that chick really annoyed me." She huffed.

Jaune just hugged her closer and gently kissed the side of her neck. She shivered and Jaune spoke softly to her. "She was probably just jealous. Someone this beautiful and kickass isn't fair."

She blushed slightly and smirked, "Same could be said for you." She said as she turned to look into his eyes.

He just shook his head, "Nah, you blow me out of the water." The two shared a chaste kiss and when the separated, Yang was smiling her usual smile.

"Flatterer." She accused.

He smiled and let her go, "True but I speak the truth." The five of them left the locker room and met up with NPR. The fights were all concluded and they were going to go out to celebrate. That was until Pyrrha and Jaune received messages that said Ozpin wished to see them. The two looked at each other, confused but decided to see what was going on. "You guys grab everything we need and head back to the dorms. Ozpin wants to see me and Pyr." Jaune told the rest of the group. They agreed and they went their separate ways.

* * *

Jaune and Pyrrha were sitting across from Ozpin. It seemed pleasant enough but with Qrow standing in the corner, it made him feel like something was going on. Jaune was looking at Qrow from the corner of his eye and Qrow just gave him a look that said, 'It'll be clear soon.'

Jaune tuned back in to hear Ozpin speak, "Well, it comes as no surprise that your team has chosen you to move on to the final round of the tournament." He turned to Jaune, "No offense, Jaune."

Jaune just shrugged, "None taken, sir. Pyrrha has experience and I busted my hand." He raised his hand to show him. "Besides, I hate the spotlight."

Pyrrha giggled slightly at Jaune, "Thank you for the praise, Professor Ozpin, but I wouldn't have made it this far without my team."

Qrow then spoke up from the back, "Personally, I think it's the other way around."

Jaune looked at him with a mild glare, "Ow, Qrow. That hurts." Qrow just gave him an apathetic shrug but the small smirk he had showed Jaune he was joking. "Remind me to hide your flask later."

Pyrrha decided to end this back and forth before it got heated. "Professor, if you don't mind me asking, why have you called us here?" Jaune turned from Qrow back to Ozpin with that.

Ozpin still had his smile, "What is your favorite fairy tale?"

Pyrrha and Jaune were both confused, "I'm sorry?" Pyrrha said.

"Fairy tales, stories from your childhood. Surely, you must remember some of them."

Pyrrha looked to Jaune but he just shrugged before deciding to answer his question. "I don't remember many but The Story of the Seasons was one I heard all the time. Came with growing up in a family with seven sisters." He said with a small grin.

Pyrrha's eyes lit up with that, "My mother loves that story and she told me it all the time." She then started to tell it to the three men. Jaune just watched her with a loving smile as she recounted the story.

When she was done Ozpin spoke up again. "Would you believe me if I told you that one's been around since I was a boy?"

Pyrrha giggled again, "You're not that old, Professor."

Jaune then saw Ozpin shift from playful to deadly serious instantly, "Well, would you believe me if I told you it was true?"

Pyrrha was shocked but before she could respond, Jaune leant over in his chair and gave him an even stare, "What do you mean, Professor?"

Ozpin's gaze moved from Pyrrha to Jaune, "What if I told you that there were four maidens existing in this world that could wield such tremendous power, without Dust."

Jaune thought for a second before tapping into his lightning Semblance. His eyes shifted to yellow and her raised his right hand to have lightning running across his fingers, "You mean like my Semblance?"

Ozpin then had a small smile, "Like magic."

Neither one of the students spoke, so Qrow did. "Yeah. First time hearing this, it's pretty crazy."

Jaune dismissed his Semblance and gave Qrow a look. He wasn't sure what was happening but he was getting on edge and that never happened around Qrow. He was taken from his thoughts with Pyrrha's next words. "You're serious?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" he asked in return.

"Why are you telling us this?" Jaune spoke up and wanting him to get to the point.

Ozpin looked to Qrow who nodded. Ozpin looked to Jaune. "We are telling you this for two different reasons." He looked to Pyrrha, "For you, Pyrrha Nikos, it is because we believe you are next in line to receive the Fall Maiden's powers."

Pyrrha's eyes were growing wider by the second, "We?" Jaune asked.

At that moment, the elevator opened to show Goodwitch and Ironwood. The general spoke up as they walked out, "Sorry we're late."

Pyrrha became overwhelmed with that, "What is this? Who are you?" Jaune gently draped his arms over her shoulder and held her close to calm her. Meanwhile, he still had that even stare, ready for anything that may or may not happen.

"You know who we are." Goodwitch said, trying to reassure her. "We're still the same teachers and Headmasters you met when you arrived at Beacon."

Qrow followed up, "But we've got a little part-time job."

Ironwood continued, "We are the protectors of the world."

"And we need your help." Ozpin finished.

Pyrrha was shocked into silence while Jaune held her protectively. He had no idea what was going on but he had a feeling he wasn't going to like where this was going.

* * *

The two found themselves in the elevator, surrounded by the 'protectors'. Pyrrha still looked nervous so Jaune took her left hand in his right. She looked at him and he gave her a reassuring smile, she gave him a small smile in return before she leant against him slightly. Jaune spoke up with that, "Where are we going?"

Ozpin was the one to answer, "The vault under the school."

Jaune raised an eyebrow before sighing, "Of course." He said tiredly.

When the elevator opened, they were now in a giant, spacious hallway. They all stepped out with Jaune still holding Pyrrha's hand. Goodwitch looked over to the two, "I'm sure you must have questions."

Jaune snorted, "That's putting it mildly."

Pyrrha finally decided to speak, "You said I was next in line to receive the Maiden's power. What do you mean by that?"

Goodwitch continued to speak, "The Maidens have existed for thousands of years. But much like in nature, the seasons change. No two summers are alike. When a Maiden dies, her power leaves her body and seeks out a new host, ensuring that the seasons are never lost, and that no individual can hold on to that power forever."

"So, how does it choose?" Pyrrha asked.

"Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules." Qrow answered over his shoulder.

"Qrow." Goodwitch said, reprimanding him.

"Hey, don't get mad cause I'm right." He answered. That caused Jaune to smirk a bit.

Goodwitch then turned back to them, "As we understand it now, when a Maiden dies, the one who is in her final thoughts is the first candidate to inherit her power."

"Unless, it's a dude or some old hag. Then the power goes to someone random, and our job gets a lot harder." Qrow added.

"Why tell us all of this now? Why not until I've graduated." Pyrrha asked.

"Why tell me at all? Seems like a big secret." Jaune added.

Qrow was the one to speak up this time, "Honestly, we've run out of time. Things are getting a lot scarier out in the world. Tensions are high, Grimm are growing stronger, more prevalent, and it's not going to be long before the peace we've been enjoying goes out the window."

"You're not talking about a war?" Pyrrha asked fearfully.

"Not a war between nations." Ironwood said for the first time since stepping out of the elevator.

"We can tell you more once we know that you're with us." Qrow said, "For now, all you need to know is that one of the Maidens has been attacked and for the first time in history, part of her power was stolen."

The group stopped in front of a large machine with lit screens hooked up to two rectangular pods, one was upright and had a young girl inside. "Is that…" Pyrrha asked before trailing off.

Ozpin sighed, "The current Fall Maiden."

"Amber?" Everyone turned to a shocked Jaune. He was just staring at the girl in the pod with a look of disbelief and recognition. Everyone was looking at him in confusion besides Ozpin and Qrow, who had sad looks. Pyrrha soon connected the dots and was just as shocked as Jaune. Jaune started to walk towards the machine, letting go of Pyrrha's hand. Ironwood looked like he was going to stop him until Qrow placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

Jaune was just staring at her. Amber, his supposedly dead girlfriend. She looked exactly like the last time he saw her, besides the nasty scar on her face. He hesitantly raised his right hand and gently laid it on the glass. "She's still alive." He said above a whisper.

"For now." Ironwood said. "We're keeping her alive with state of the art Atlas technology. But there is a lot about this situation that is unprecedented."

"What do you mean?" Pyrhha asked. "Won't her power just transfer to the next host?"

"Under normal circumstances, yes. But this is a delicate situation." Ironwood resumed. "It's not uncommon for the last thoughts of the slain to be of their attacker." Jaune's hand clenched into a fist over the glass with that. "And to make matters worse, no one's seen the power split like this before. For all we know, it will seek out its other half."

"Her assailant." Jaune spoke in an angry tone filled with venom. They all turned to him as he turned to look at them with an angry gaze or more specifically, Qrow. "I thought you said no one found her body?"

He sighed, "Kid, listen…"

"Shut the fuck up!" Jaune shouted, stunning them all but Qrow and Ozpin. "Do you realize what you put me through!? You nearly destroyed me, Qrow! I mourned her and at one point, almost ended my life because the pain was too much." Pyrrha gasped at that but he was too angry to hear her. "Now, after I put it behind me, you bring all this shit up and drag my girlfriend into it!? What the fuck!? Why even tell me this!?" His aura surged to the surface and looked like a white inferno. They were stunned but even more so when Amber's weakened orange aura reacted similar and covered her body. Jaune was shocked and stopped, soon her aura did as well.

"That is why, Jaune." Ozpin spoke up and everyone turned to him. "You have a connection to the Fall Maiden and her power because your Semblance came from the Fall Maiden originally."

Everyone was stunned by this, except Qrow. They all turned to Jaune. All he could say was, "What?"

Ozpin took a deep breath, "During the last war, your great-great-grandfather encountered the Fall Maiden of that era and they would work together frequently. They spent so much time together that something unorthodox happened. Nicholas Arc had a very special Semblance, Enhancement, which allowed his aura to take in outside stimuli to increase his overall power. His aura eventually absorbed a small amount of the Fall Maiden's power but because he was male, he could not use it. When he married and your great-grandfather was born, that power passed to him. But it laid dormant and was passed from him to your grandfather to your father and finally, to you."

Jaune was just taking this in like everyone else but he couldn't believe this. It was too crazy. "If that's the case, how come I gained these abilities instead of my father or grandpa?" he asked.

"Because of your mother." Ozpin stated and that just confused him more. "Your mother is a direct descendant of that Fall Maiden. The power that was passing through the Arc bloodline recognized the connection your mother had with its previous host. With that connection and your large reserves of aura, the Maiden's power was able to manifest as your Semblance. Although, it was weaker. You can only use the five basic elements and have to use Dust as a catalyst to use it."

Jaune looked down at his hands and just stared at them, 'Is this all true?' he asked himself. He looked back up at Ozpin, "Then how can I use Advance Elements or even push my Semblance into Stage Two?"

Ozpin motioned to Amber, "You spent a lot of time with Amber. All the time you spent with her, allowed your aura to siphon off small amounts of her Maiden powers. That allowed your Semblance to grow and evolve. But because of that, the Maiden's abilities would be weakened for a short period of time. When the two of you went your separate ways, it was after a few months of you being together. With that, her powers were weakened significantly and that's what gave her assailant an advantage in their fight." Ozpin concluded.

Jaune was just stunned, trying to fight everything he just heard but couldn't. It all made sense. His abilities did grow after he met Amber and she would seem weaker when he would leave her. He turned from Ozpin to stare at Amber, one thought on his mind, "She's like this…because of me…" he said weakly.

Pyrrha couldn't take any more of this and walked over to Jaune and held him from behind. She could feel him shaking. She knew that no matter what they said or did, he would blame himself for this. She wanted to help him, to take this burden from him but she didn't know what to do. She looked over his shoulder at Amber and came to a conclusion. She let go of Jaune and turned to the other's "I'll do it. I will become your Fall Maiden." She said determined. Jaune went rigid at her words and the others look warily at each other. "That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

Ozpin stepped forward, "It is, but I'm afraid it's not that simple. Given Amber's condition, you won't be able to inherit her power naturally. However, General Ironwood believes he has a solution."

"Over the past few years, Atlas has been studying Aura from a scientific standpoint; how it works, what's it made of, how can it be used. We've made… significant strides. And we believe we've found a way to capture it." Ironwood explained.

With an edge, Qrow continued, "Capture it and cram it into something else. Or in your case…"

"That's wrong!" Pyrrha shouted.

"The feeling is mutual." Goodwitch said, glaring at Ironwood before looking a Pyrrha. "But desperate times call for desperate measures.

"And these are indeed desperate times." Ironwood continued. "We can't transfer Amber's power to you, but we can give you what those powers are bound to."

Pyrrha was shocked but slowly spoke, "Her arura."

"Fuck that." Jaune spoke up and turned to them. "You wanna force Amber's aura into Pyrrha? And you have no idea what will happen if you do."

"Mr. Arc we understand what you're feeling…" Ironwood try to speak.

"Don't even try it. You don't know what'll happen. For all you know it could fail and the powers will just pass to the assailant anyways. Or worse, it could kill Pyrrha in the process and they'll still get her powers." He was barely keeping his emotions in check by this point. "How many people are you willing to sacrifice for this?"

"We don't wanna sacrifice anyone, Kid." Qrow told him calmly. "But…we have no other option." He said as he looked away.

Jaune looked at all these 'protectors' with his anger growing with each one. Before he looked at Ozpin. "Was this your plan, Ozpin? Is this why you allowed me into Beacon? To convince the person you chose to agree with this and help them take down this assailant?" His voice was even but filled with venom. Ozpin didn't say a thing but looked away to look at Amber. Jaune grit his teeth and lowered his head. "Go to Hell." Is all he said as he started to walk past them all.

When he was past them, Qrow rushed over to him. "Kid, wait." He grabbed his shoulder but soon jerked his hand away with a shout of pain. Everyone saw lightning surrounding Jaune's body and some electricity was running throughout Qrow's arm.

"Don't touch me, Qrow." Was all he said in that same even voice but didn't turn around. He did stop walking away with that though. "I do have one question. I now know why I was let into Beacon and you probably let Nora and Ren in because you knew I wouldn't join if they didn't. But there is one other special case in my year, someone I love dearly. So, answer me this, Ozpin. Does Ruby have a role to play in this game of yours?"

Everyone turned to Ozpin but he was still looking at Amber. He didn't say a word. "I thought so." They all turned back to Jaune with that. "Let me make this perfectly clear." He said in that same tone. "We aren't fucking pawns for you to use in this game of yours. If any of you try to use the people I love…." He finally turned to look at the 'protectors' and what they saw was shocking. Jaune's eyes were cold but what was more unsettling, was that they were rapidly fluctuating through the five colors of his Semblance. They never stayed the same color for more than a second, it truly showed the maelstrom of emotions he was feeling. "And I'll kill you."

They were all stunned by his words, except Ozpin. Ironwood stepped forward, "Is that a threat, Mr. Arc?"

Jaune turned his eyes to him and the General had to stop himself from flinching. "No. It's my word and I never go back on it." With that he turned away and started to walk back to the elevator.

They all just stared at his retreating form before Pyrrha ran after him. "Miss. Nikos!" Goodwitch shouted to get her attention but failing. She looked to Qrow and Ironwood before turning to Ozpin, who was still looking at Amber. "What now, Ozpin?"

There was a long silence before he spoke up, "I'm not sure, Glynda."

Pyrrha finally caught up to Jaune. He was just standing in the back of the elevator looking down. She stepped inside and the doors closed. As the elevator was going back up, the two just sat in silence. Pyrrha had no idea on what to do. She wanted to help Jaune but how was she supposed to do that. She jumped when she heard a loud noise and the elevator shook slightly. She turned to Jaune and saw that he had punched the elevator with his right hand, leaving a huge dent, and his fist still resting there. He was shaking like crazy and tears were running down his cheeks. "Damn it." Was all he said just above a whisper.

Pyrrha went to him and laid a hand on his shoulder and the other his cheek. He slowly looked up at her, his eyes were back to blue but that wasn't what was wrong. He had such a broken look in his eyes that it broke her heart. She pulled him into a hug and slowly he held her just as close. All he could do was hold onto her as he cried and the world he thought he knew shattered around him.

* * *

 **A/N- Here it is. The secret behind Jaune's Semblance. I had this planned since the moment I made Amber his ex-girlfriend. I'm surprised no one made the connection. Well, all except acepro Evolution, figured it out a while back and PMed me about it. So, props to acepro! Anyways that's it for this chapter. Vol. 3 will be wrapping up soon. Hope you're all ready for the ride.  
**


	74. Tragedy Strikes

Jaune and Pyrrha spent the better part of two hours walking around Beacon. They were trying to come to terms with what they heard and trying to figure out what to do next. They didn't really talk, they just walked together and held each other close, both thankful they had someone to share this burden with. They were currently sitting on one of the benches on Beacon's grounds and were just sitting in silence. Pyrrha was cuddled up to Jaune and holding him tightly, like a lifeline. Jaune had his arms around her and held her close, as if trying to protect her. They desperately wished they could just live in this moment and ignore the rest of the world. But, that couldn't happen. Both their scrolls went off and they saw it was their friends wondering where they were.

They looked at each other. Jaune eventually sighed, "We should go." Pyrrha nodded and they both stood up before walking, hand in hand. As they were nearing the dorms, Jaune spoke up again, "Wanna keep this quiet for a bit? We don't know what to do and I'd rather not bother the others with…. this." Jaune said tiredly and Pyrrha just nodded sadly.

Jaune stopped and gently laid his hands on her shoulders and she looked at him sadly, "Pyr, we'll figure this out. One way or the other." He leant his forehead against her's and they looked into the other's eyes. "And no matter what, I'll be right here for you."

Pyrrha closed her eyes and took a deep breath before wrapping her arms around him and leaning her forehead a bit more into his, "Thank you, Jaune."

"You don't have to thank me." He said simply. They held each other for a minute or so before they went into the dorms. They went to the common room. That's where they found the rest of their team, RWBY, CRDL, CFVY and SSSN all having a good time. They both put on masks to cover up their internal turmoil and joined the party.

They spent the next couple of hours having 'fun' and being with their friends. Most of the people were wishing Yang, Pyrrha and Sun good luck in the finals. Eventually the party started to settle down and everyone was getting distracted with their own conversations. He noticed that Pyrrha was hanging out with Nora and Ren; Nora was going off on a tangent while Ren and Pyrrha just listened. He had a small, sad smile, 'She should be fine, at least for a bit.' With that he silently slipped out of the common room. He made his way through the halls until he found a completely deserted hallway.

He leant against the wall and slowly sank to the ground. He rested the back of his head against the wall and sighed before closing his eyes. His mind went back to the events of the day. 'So, these Maidens actually exist and I'm apparently some sort of "pseudo-maiden". Like life wasn't complicated enough as is. And Amber is…was one of them. And her assailant is running around with half of her power.' He clenched his fists when thinking that. 'I don't care about those "protectors", I swore to end the person who did that to Amber, I just understand why now. And at least, now I know what this ominous feeling is about. This hasn't come to a head, not yet. I need to be ready for that and I can't afford to hold back. But can I really go that far?'

His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice, "So, this is where you snuck off to." He turned to see Blake standing not far from him. She was looking at him with a concerned look. She started to walk over to him, "So, why are you here?"

Jaune looked down and sighed, "Just…needed to think."

Blake sat next to him and took his right hand in her left. He looked into her amber eyes as she spoke, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Jaune looked away slightly. He did, so very much. He wanted to spill everything and just have Blake by his side for this. He wanted them all by his side for this. He looked back to her and her concerned look. His resolve crumbled a bit with that. 'I don't want them in the middle of this. I've lost enough.' He took a deep breath before talking, "I do, Blake. I want to, so badly. But I can't, not with this. I'm sorry." He looked down when he finished.

He felt her hand on his chin and she slowly lifted his head to look into his eyes again. She now had an understanding look in her eyes. "Jaune, out of everyone, I understand the need to keep secrets. Just know that I'm here when you're ready to talk about it." She gave him a small smile with that.

Jaune looked at her for a while before enveloping her in a hug. "Thank you." He said weakly. She just nodded and gently rubbed his back to calm him. He held her tightly and made his mind up. He pulled back slightly and gently rested his hand on either side of her face. He gave her the most loving kiss he could. The kiss lasted a full minute before he pulled back and looked into her amber eyes. "I love you, Blake. Please, never forget that."

Blake was confused but nodded, "Always."

Jaune gave her a small smile and they stood up before walking back to the common room. Blake was confused about this whole situation but resolved herself to not pry. He'd talk to her when he was ready. They got back before anyone noticed they were gone. They all enjoyed the party until they had to go to bed. They all said goodnight and Jaune gave all of RWBY their good night kisses before going into his room. Pyrrha immediately cuddled up to Jaune, desperate for his presence. He just held her close as he prayed that tomorrow would be better. Sadly, it wouldn't.

* * *

The next morning went like most would expect. Jaune and Pyrrha were still distracted by the previous day's revelations. The whole morning was just a blur to them as they wore their masks around everyone, again. Eventually, they found themselves back in the Amity Coliseum; Jaune was in the stands and Pyrrha was down in the arena with the other competitors. She was clearly distracted but honestly, neither of them gave a damn about the tournament anymore. He was glad that no one bothered them much. They told them they didn't sleep too well the previous night, which was the truth. Jaune was about to zone out until he saw that the first match would be between Yang and Mercury. That got his attention and he was quickly on the edge of his seat to watch.

The match was even and heated between these two fighters. Yang's strength was giving her an edge with every hit she landed but Mercury's speed was also difficult for the blonde brawler to deal with. The match seemed over when Yang was able to blast Mercury out of the ring but he quickly recovered by shooting blasts from his boots and landing back in the arena. The fight restarted with that and soon Mercury was firing shots at Yang and into the air around them. The close quarters combat began again until Mercury landed an axe kick onto Yang and all the shots he fired into the air converged on her. Jaune stood up and was looking down in worry for his girlfriend. As he was doing that, Mercury gave him that smug smirk. That was soon gone when an explosion happened behind him and Yang was standing back up with her Semblance active. She then released a devastating combo onto Mercury and shattered his aura, winning the match. Jaune had a small smile after that. The teams were cheering for her as she was walking away from the arena. Until she stopped suddenly and looked at Mercury.

Jaune froze with that, 'Did the ominous pressure just increase!?' he thought in a panic. He then was brought back to the present when Yang fired a shot into Mercury's leg, to the shock of the world. Yang was then surrounded by Atlas Soldiers and Knights, guns pointed at her.

That was enough for Jaune. He quickly condensed Void into his fist like her did against his mother's barrier. He punched the forcefield in front of him and shattered it, to the surprise of his friends and everyone around him. He then shot forward with the help of his aura. As he was flying through the air, he dismissed Void and quickly let his Semblance purge every element besides water from his aura. He activated Stage Two immediately and used that to pull water from the air around him. At that point, he landed in front of Yang and used the water to form a cyclone of water, glowing with his aura, around them. The Soldiers, Knights and Yang were stunned by this. "Back off. Now." Jaune said in a cold tone.

Yang was confused and was looking around frantically. "Jaune, I don't know…I didn't mean… he attacked me…" she said in a panic and close to tears.

Jaune held her tight as his cyclone spun around them, "I'm here. It's okay." She calmed slightly with that and she held Jaune close as Jaune was keeping his eyes on the Knights and Soldiers. By this point Emerald was out by Mercury glaring at Yang. "Keep glaring and you'll be in the same shape as him." He replied coldly, just loud enough for her to hear. Emerald flinched but soon paramedics were out and carrying Mercury away.

"Jaune Arc! Stand down!" one of the Soldiers shouted at him.

Jaune looked over to him, "Stop pointing those guns at us and I'll be happy to."

"Not a chance, she's dangerous!" The other Soldier shouted.

The cyclone started to spin faster and shine more brilliantly. The Soldiers took a step back. Jaune was glaring at them with full fury now. "Every Huntsmen and Huntress is. And do you wanna see how dangerous _I_ am?" As he said that, his body was absorbing wind dust and he was starting to weave the storming winds into the surging water in his aura. The bottom of the cyclone was starting to freeze. It would've continued but Yang squeezed him tighter and he looked back to her. She had a pleading look in her eyes and he forced himself to calm down. He undid the Advance Element before it was even done and dismissed the Stage Two abilities. The cyclone was still spinning but no longer glowing. Jaune spoke calmly this time. "I'm going to drop the cyclone. Lower your weapons and you can escort us wherever. Deal?"

The Soldiers looked at each other and nodded. They lowered their weapons, along with the Knights. Jaune then stopped the cyclone from spinning, the water was just suspended before it moved through the air to the corner of the arena, where it dropped to the ground. The Soldiers started to lead them away and Jaune escorted Yang behind them with his arm protectively over her shoulder.

* * *

They eventually found themselves in RWBY's dorm with the rest of Yang's team. Two Atlesian Knights were standing outside the door while Ironwood was talking to the girls. He was going to ask Jaune to leave but he told him flat out he was staying. Yang and Ruby were sitting on Weiss' bed while Weiss and Blake were on the latter's. Jaune was leant against the wall near the door with his arms crossed. Jaune was only half listening to what Ironwood was saying. "I'm sorry, but you've left us with no choice."

"But he attacked me!" Yang shouted.

Ironwood was pacing at this point, "Video footage and millions of viewers say otherwise."

"But Yang would never do that!" Weiss intervened.

"Yeah!" Ruby agreed.

"You all seem like good students and the staff here at Beacon are fully aware that you would never lash out the way you did…under normal circumstances." Ironwood continued. "What I believe and hope this to be nothing more than the result of stress and adrenaline. When you're out on the battlefield, your judgement can become clouded in an instant. Sometimes you see things that simply aren't there. Even after the fight is past…"

"But I wasn't-" Yang started.

"That's enough!" Ironwood said sternly and angrily, silencing the room.

An arc of lightning shot past his head and out the open window. Everyone turned to Jaune with his finger outstretched with an angry look. "Don't speak to her like that." He said in a neutral voice.

Ironwood turned to him, "You're not innocent in all of this either, Mr. Arc."

"Oh, yes, what a crime. Stepping in to stop bullets from flying at my girlfriend, take me away." He said mockingly to the shock of his girlfriends.

Ironwood glared at him, "My soldiers wouldn't have fired unless necessary."

Jaune shrugged as he got off the wall, "Well, who knows? Judgement can be clouded in an instant. How do you know they wouldn't see something that wasn't there and shoot her?" Throwing his words back at him.

"That is different." Ironwood said.

Jaune started to walk over to him, "Really? What makes your soldiers different from Yang? Or what would stop your Knights from malfunctioning? I wasn't taking that chance, General." He stood in front of him with an angry tone.

Ironwood just looked him over. "You seem convinced she's innocent, Mr. Arc. What did you see?"

"I saw Yang leaving, Mercury saying something to her and her attacking him." He said plainly. Ironwood was about to say something but Jaune interrupted him. "But I know something else is going on. Yang would only go that far if she was in danger. Besides, there was something missing in that arena."

Ironwood was confused, "And what would that be?"

"Blood." He said simply. "A shot from Ember Celica at that range, with no aura for protection, would've left a lot blood on the floor. And him lying on the ground would've left more. But there was none at all."

Everyone's eyes widened, "That may be so but you used water to protect yourself." Ironwood stated.

"My water was nowhere close to where he was. It was barely half a foot away from the two of us." Jaune said with an edge. He was getting sick of this. "You know, after all the shit you told me last night, I would think you'd be more open to other possibilities. Rather than simply believe that a student would just shoot another one out of the blue."

The girls were confused by what Jaune said but didn't say anything. They were all just watching the two having an angry stare down. Ironwood eventually sighed, "We'll look into this." He then turned to the girls. "Whether it was an accident or an assault, it doesn't matter. The world saw you attack an innocent student. They've already drawn their own conclusions. And it's my job to inform you that you are disqualified."

Yang quickly gained a miserable expression and looked down at the ground. "Well fuck those people." Jaune said. Ironwood just looked at Jaune before he left and closed the door behind him. Jaune just watched him leave then huffed, "Prick."

"You guys believe me, right?" Yang asked brokenly.

"Duh!" Ruby quickly replied.

"You're hotheaded but not ruthless." Weiss added.

Yang looked to her partner, "Blake?" she asked.

Blake looked away slightly, shocking Ruby and Weiss. "I want to believe you…"

Yang's eyes widened and tears started to form. She then turned to Jaune, "Jaune?" she asked, almost begging.

Jaune turned to her with an unreadable expression. Ruby and Weiss were looking at him just as unsure. He walked over to her before kneeling down and resting his forehead against her's to look into her eyes. "I wouldn't've stepped in if I thought you did that out of malicious intent. Something else is going on here and I'll be here to help you though this, Sun Fire." Yang started to cry and threw her arms around Jaune to hold him tightly. She started to cry into his shoulder and he just held her and rubbed her back soothingly, "Just let it out, Yang. Let it out."

Jaune looked over to Blake who was just looking at her partner breaking down. She then looked at Jaune in the eyes. "Yang isn't your old partner, Blake." Her eyes widened with that. She told Jaune about Adam but went into very few details. "She wouldn't be this torn up by this if she was anything like him. So, do you believe her? Do you trust her?"

Blake thought about this for a second before she got off her bed and knelt beside Jaune and gently placed a hand on Yang's shoulder. She flinched slightly and slowly turned to Blake, teary eyed. Blake gave her a small smile. "Of course, I do."

Yang gave another sob before she pulled Blake into the hug as well. Yang just held them close as she cried into her boyfriend's and partner's shoulders as they held her. Soon Ruby and Weiss joined the group hug to offer their own support and eventually, Yang calmed down. Jaune looked at the other girls, "Mind giving us some time? And giving my team a heads up?" he asked. They nodded before leaving the blonde pair. They were still kneeling on the ground, holding each other. Jaune eventually moved them so his back was against Blake's bed and he could hold her a bit more comfortably. He was gently running his hand through her golden locks, trying to comfort her.

"Thank you." She said weakly.

Jaune just held her closer, "No need for that. I'll stand by you no matter what, Sun Fire. Even if the whole world turns against us. You'll always have me to support you and we'll always be the most badass, blonde couple out there." He said jokingly and he was relieved to hear her giggle weakly.

She placed her left hand on his right cheek and looked up at him with so much gratitude and love. "I'm so lucky to have you." She said honestly.

Jaune just shook his head, "That's my line." He then held her closer and gave her a very loving kiss. She instantly returned it. They eventually pulled apart and she rested her head against his neck. He held her closely before speaking, "I love you, Yang. Never forget that." He said truthfully.

Yang heard how serious he was and nodded. "I know, Jaune. I love just as much." The two just held each other, taking comfort for as long as they could. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be long.

* * *

 **A/N- This chapter was supposed to be longer but I felt you all waited long enough for this update. The 'rest' of this chapter will hopefully be up tomorrow as the next chapter. See you all then!**


	75. Pressure Builds

Jaune and Yang sat together for unknown amount of time; they were still on the floor, leant against Blake's bed. Yang was still snuggled up to him with her head rested in the nook between his neck and shoulder, while Jaune just held her close. He would've sat with her all day but eventually she patted his leg before standing up, "Alright, enough of this moping around. You go out and spend time with the others." She said with a small smile.

Jaune just looked at her confused, "You sure? I don't mind staying with you."

She smiled more at him, "And I love you for that. But, I'm better now. So, go off and have some fun."

Jaune just looked at her. He knew she was doing better but she wasn't back to normal. But then again, she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. He sighed before he stood up, "Fine, I'll get out of your hair. Just call me if your lonely, please."

She nodded and gave him a chaste kiss, "Of course. Now get going." She started to push him towards the door. He decided to just let her push him, just to mess with her. She shoved him out the door after she opened it. He caught himself so he wouldn't end up on the ground. He turned back around and saw her stick her tongue out at him before she closed the door. He gave a weak chuckled before he looked back at the two Knights still standing at the doors.

His eyebrow twitched in annoyance at this. He tapped into his lightning Semblance and let electricity jump off him and hit the Knights. They short circuited before falling into the ground in a heap. He dismissed his Semblance with a smirk, "Whoops." He said apathetically. He then started to make his way down the hall, intent on going to the fairgrounds.

Halfway down the hall, he saw Qrow walking towards him. Jaune glared at him before he decided to just ignore him. Qrow made no outward reaction to this. The two walked past each other before Qrow stopped a few steps past Jaune. "How is she?"

Jaune stopped but didn't turn around, "Doing better. You know, considering what she's been through."

Qrow was silent for a bit, "Do you know why she did it?"

That annoyed Jaune, "She saw Mercury attack her and defended herself. Her team believes her and so do I."

He heard Qrow sigh, "Just because you couldn't save Amber, doesn't mean you have to defend Yang."

Before Jaune realized it, he turned around and grabbed Qrow by the throat before slamming him against the wall. Qrow seemed unfazed as Jaune stared him down with complete fury. "Don't you dare talk like you know everything about me, you damn drunk." He squeezed Qrow's throat a bit harder with that. "I didn't defend her because of Amber. I did it because she was in trouble and needed me. Plus, the fact I love her. And I believe her because I know her and she wouldn't do something like that unless she had to. Apparently, I know her a hell of a lot better than you." He let go of Qrow with that and took a step back.

Qrow took a deep breath and coughed before he spoke again, "Maybe you do, Kid, but people change. Look at Raven. No one saw her changing-" Qrow was interrupted when Jaune grabbed his shirt and threw him against the opposite wall, leaving a large indent. Qrow looked to see Jaune put his right fist through the wall right next to his head. He looked back to see Jaune breathing raggedly and staring at him with more fury than before. But what unnerved him was that Jaune's eyes were a very dark purple, just a shade away from black.

Jaune pulled his fist from the wall and calmed down and his eyes shifted back to blue. "Don't ever compare Yang to that woman. Yang is not Raven and she never will be. But she will end up like her, if people like you keep believing she will." He said that as he jabbed Qrow in the chest with his finger.

Jaune took another step away from Qrow, "I told this to Ironwood. After all the shit, you know and have seen, I thought you'd at least think something else is going on. Instead, you just want to throw your niece under the bus. Just another sacrifice that you 'protectors' believe is necessary." He turned away and started to walk away from Qrow. Before he stopped a few feet away, he started to speak to him without turning around, "We haven't told the others, including Yang and Ruby, so answer me this."

There was a silence for a minute before Jaune continued, "Was it all just for Ozpin?" Qrow was confused and Jaune continued. "You trained me, taught me a lot and even just swung by to just see me or hang out. I started to see you like an older brother, maybe even an uncle. So, tell me, were you just keeping tabs on me for Ozpin? Evaluating a potential pawn?" Jaune tried to keep his voice even but Qrow could hear the broken undertones to his voice.

Qrow's eyes widened slightly and he took a half a step towards Jaune, "Kid, that's not it at all. I was keeping tabs on Amber for her safety but never you. Ozpin didn't even get all the facts about you until after Amber was attacked and you defended that village. And as soon as he did, he offered you a spot here. Jaune, I never knew about any of this crap about you until after that. I swear it." Jaune was quiet for a while before he just walked away, not looking back at Qrow. Qrow looked down and clenched his fist in anger, "Sometimes, I really hate this job." He said to himself before he went to see his eldest niece.

* * *

Jaune was just walking away from Qrow. He wanted to believe him but with everything going on, how could he? He sighed to himself before he decided to head to the fairgrounds. He heard from his team that they were down there with his family. He eventually made it and found his parents and older siblings sitting around a table near a food stand. He took a seat next to Rouge and his mother. "Where are the others?" He asked to their surprise.

Alexandra recovered first, "Good to see you, Honey. Your younger sisters are off with Ren and Nora, probably having them win them prizes. Pyrrha said she had to prepare for her match and left a bit ago."

Jaune frowned at that but nodded. She was still bothered by Ozpin and his inner circle. "I know that look." Jaune looked over to his father, "What's wrong, Jaune? Something is bothering you."

Jaune looked at everyone at the table, they were looking back at him with concern. He gave out an explosive sigh before looking up and messaging his temples like no tomorrow. "What isn't bothering me? My hands busted, my girlfriend is being accused of being a dangerous psychopath and then…" he trailed off before bringing up what Ozpin told them. He gave a tired sigh before slumping into his chair more. "And fucking Qrow and Ozpin."

His family looked at each other in further concern. Jaune cursed but only when he was truly pissed or when he was just distraught about something. They all looked back at him. Rouge threw her arm around his shoulders in a side hug, "Come on, Little Bro, everything will work out. Your hand will be back to normal in no time and this whole situation with Yang will blow over." She said trying to make him feel better.

Jaune just looked at her haggardly, "Maybe but that isn't the major issue."

"Jaune." He looked over to Blanc. "You can tell us anything. You know that, right?"

Noir soon followed her twin, "We can't help you unless you tell us. So, please, talk to us."

Jaune dragged his hand down his face, "I wanna, by Oum I wanna. But, I can't. No matter how angry I am or even if I possibly hate Qrow and Ozpin, I can't tell you all. I just can't." He said defeated.

The twins looked like they were about to grill him when Alexandra stepped in, "So don't." They all looked at her stunned. "Tell us as vaguely as you can. Relieve your burden but don't give us details."

Jaune looked at his mother and wanted to just not tell them but, he was tired of all this secretive business. He took a deep breath before he sat up, "Okay. But I need to tell you the truth…about Amber." They were all intrigued by that.

He then told them everything. How after the two of them went on a break, she was attacked and supposedly killed. How he didn't tell them because he didn't want them to worry. He told him that Ozpin and Qrow recently told him that Amber had 'something' her assailant wanted and stole half of it. That she was barely alive and that they wanted 'someone' to take the other half of what Amber has, to stop the assailant from gaining it, but through a dangerous process. And finally, how he has a connection to this 'thing' that Amber and her assailant hold, with him just as involved as they are. When Jaune was done, he looked like he had a weight lifted off his shoulders but looked just as exhausted.

His family was confused at first but got the gist of what was going on. Rouge, the laid back and chill Arc, was livid. She knew her brother better than any of their siblings and for him to suffer so much, she would hunt the person down for it. Noir and Blanc were right there with her. Their protective instincts were completely taking control and they had to stop themselves from destroying the place. Noah looked calm, but the smashed cup in his hand proved otherwise. He had half a mind to go to Beacon and bring that tower down on top of Ozpin. Alexandra was nothing short of explosive. Her motherly and Huntress sides were mixing to become evil's worst enemy. She said what they were all thinking, "What do you need us to help you with?"

Jaune looked at his mother stunned before looking at his father and older sisters, "What?"

"No one messes with the Arcs and gets away with it." Noah said dead serious. His sisters nodded with their parents. Jaune wanted to argue with them but he knew it was fruitless to try. Arcs were known for three things: their fighting prowess, never breaking their word and just how damned stubborn they were. Jaune kept looking at his family and the pit that formed in his stomach started to dissipate. They may not know all the details but he was glad that his family was by his side.

He sighed before he got serious, "First, we need to get the girls out of Vale. Whatever is happening, hasn't come to head yet. And I guarantee it's going to be big. We don't want them involved, especially if they can't defend themselves."

Alexandra nodded, "I'll call your grandparents and then get them on an airship out of here."

Jaune nodded, "This next part is selfish. I want you to keep an eye on Ren, Nora, Pyrrha and RWBY. I have a feeling something may happen to them and I can't be everywhere."

They all nodded, "Of course, can't have my sisters-in-law get hurt." Rouge said teasingly.

Jaune smiled, "One last thing. I don't know how this will end. I'm going to fight to my absolute limits if this goes the way I dread. But if I don't make it through this…" he looked at all of them with his eyes full of determination. "Please, look after them. All of them." His family looked him in the eyes and nodded. Jaune took a deep breath and stood up, "Thank you. I need to find Pyrrha now. I love you all." He said with a smile and as much love as he could muster. He then left the table to find his girlfriend.

The Arcs all looked at each other, "Jaune isn't serious, right? I mean, he's not going to go so far as to get himself killed. Right?" Noir asked.

Alexandra and Noah exchanged a look before Noah stood up, "I'm not going to answer that. But what would I do if someone threatened the people I loved. Or the what would you do in his position." The sisters all looked down. "Jaune is strong. Stronger than I am or any Arc I've heard tale of, I can just feel it. Let's trust in him, he's earned it." The Arcs all nodded and they prepared themselves for what was to come.

* * *

Jaune had a hot chocolate in his hands as he was looking for Pyrrha, using his fire Semblance to keep it hot. He soon found her sitting alone outside the cafeteria with her head bowed. He walked over to her before sitting down right next to her. This caused her to jump and look at him surprised. "Hey." He handed her the hot chocolate. "Hot chocolate with extra chocolate. Thought you could use this." He said with a small smile.

Pyrrha gave him a weak smile before she took it from him. She took a small sip and hummed in satisfaction. "Thank you."

Jaune just rested his hand on top of her's. "You're beautiful, you know that?" he said casually.

She smiled a bit more and leant her head against his shoulder, "I've heard a few people say that." They sat there for a while until Pyrrha's face darkened again, "Jaune." She said as she lifted her head but just held his hand. He turned to her. "I don't know what to do."

Jaune sighed, "Yeah. We're in that boat together, Pyr." He looked down for a second before looking at her. "What do you think we should do?"

Pyrrha glanced up before looking at him again, "Do you believe in destiny?"

Jaune thought about it, "That depends on how you view it." He said simply.

Pyrrha started to elaborate, "When I think of destiny, I don't think of a predetermined fate you can't escape. But rather some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life."

Jaune took a second to absorb that, "I could see that."

She was quiet for a while before she sighed, "What would you do if something came along that had the potential to stand between you and your destiny? Or what if you could suddenly fulfill your destiny in an instant, but at the cost of who you were?" She said panicking.

Jaune gently placed a finger on her lips, silencing her. She looked into his eyes and his calming gaze eased her. He took his finger away and looked off at the distance, thinking. "You want my honest answer?" He asked and she nodded immediately. "I've never thought about destiny." He said shocking her. "I honestly never liked the idea of anything having control of my life. That's why I ran from my family, that's why I push past any limit I find in myself. I'm the one in control of my life, not destiny or anything else. My destiny is what _I_ say it is." He looked back at Pyrrha who was still stunned. "Maybe because of where my Semblance came from and my relationship with Amber, people would say I have a destiny to uphold. But, that is just talk of people who don't believe in themselves or the people around them." Jaune stood up and looked up to the sky. "I chose this life. I chose to train and better myself. I chose to fight, to protect people and the ones I love."

He looked back down at Pyrrha and held his hand out to her. She stared at it before taking it and he pulled her to her feet. He wrapped his arms around her and looked into her eyes. "And I chose to stand by you, Pyrrha. No matter what may come, no matter what darkness maybe around the corner, I will stand by you."

Pyrrha shed a few tears before holding him tightly and burying her head into his shoulder. Jaune just held her close. She started to speak weakly, "I've always felt I was destined to become a Huntress. To protect the world. And it's becoming increasingly clear to me that I was right." She looked up at him with tears running down her cheeks. "I don't know if I can do it."

Jaune gently wiped her tears away, "You don't have to. Pyrrha, you are one of the strongest people I know. And I don't just mean physically. Your heart and soul are the strongest things about you. Don't do this because you think it's your destiny. If you do this, do it because you chose to do so. And if you don't go through with it, I'll be right here to help you. We'll find another way to make things right. Hell, you're the the Invincible Girl, the Goddess of Victory, and I'm the Elemental Swordsman, the 'Pseudo-Maiden'. We can do anything together. Plus, we have our team, Team RWBY and my family to back us up."

Pyrrha looked at him before kissing him fully and passionately. Jaune returned it. They soon pulled apart and she looked into his eyes with appreciation and love. "Thank you, Jaune. I really needed that."

He just smiled at her, "That's my job, Pyrrha."

She sighed, "I don't know what to do. But, I'm glad you're here for me."

He gently poked her forehead and she looked at him confused. "That's for thinking you were in this alone, you beautiful fool."

She smiled and they soon separated. Pyrrha had to get back to the Amity Coliseum before the next match was decided. Jaune told her he'd be there soon. He had a few things to take care of. She nodded and left. Jaune smiled until she was gone and his face became serious. He went back to his locker to get his armor, Kuroibarra and his dust crystals. He then made it back to his dorm room and locked the door as he walked in. He placed his gear on his bed before he took off the bandages on his left hand. He flexed his fingers and rolled his wrist experimentally. It felt as good as new.

He then sat down at his desk and set his scroll up to see him perfectly. "I hope they never have to see this." He said sadly. He took deep breath to calm himself before he hit the record button. He put a sad smiled on, "Hey. If you're all seeing this. Well, that means I'm dead…"

* * *

 **A/N- Here it is, as promised. Next chapter will start the TES version of the Fall of Beacon. Hope you're all ready because here it comes! See you all then!**


	76. The Beginning of the Fall

Jaune was standing in the Amity Coliseum once again. He was dressed in all his armor; all his dust clips were full and he had all three of his remaining dust crystals in his pockets. Along with all that, he had his case of aura shots located on the front right space of his belt, between his lightning and wind clips. He also had Kuroibarra located under his left vambracer, to get it past security. He didn't know when this would all start but he was going to be prepared regardless. He came to the Coliseum to check on Pyrrha, Ren, Nora and Ruby, since they were all here and his family wouldn't be there for a bit. The twins were watching out for Weiss and Blake, while Rouge was keeping an eye on Yang. Meanwhile, his parents were busy getting his younger sisters out of Vale for the time being.

Jaune was making his way to the stands when he heard that Pyrrha would be fighting Penny. As the fight was starting, he heard what sounded like a gun shot. He looked around and saw he was next to a maintenance hallway. Jaune opened the door and listened. He heard the sounds of a fight and quickly ran inside to see what was happening. As he got closer, he saw Mercury beating on Ruby. Jaune didn't even think about what Mercury could be doing there before he tapped into his lightning Semblance and shot off in a burst on lightning. He got between Mercury and Ruby to deliver an uppercut to the silver haired guy, sending him flying back. Mercury managed to backflip and land on his feet but looked both surprised and annoyed by Jaune's interruption. "You seem well for someone who got shot in the leg." Jaune said evenly but glaring heatedly at him.

"Jaune!" He turned to Ruby. She was fine but looked to be in a panic, "Pyrrha can't fight Penny! We need to stop the fight!"

Jaune was confused but nodded to the reaper. "Okay. You get to Port and Oobleck." He turned back to Mercury with that. "I got this."

Mercury chuckled, "You can try." They all stared each other down, until Ruby used her Semblance to shoot past Mercury. Mercury tried to kick her out of the air but Jaune got in his way, thanks to his heightened speed, and intercepted his kick with his entirely armored left arm. Before he could go after Ruby, Jaune grabbed his leg and went for his own roundhouse kick. Mercury was able to break his hold be pushing off Jaune's chest with his other leg and jumped away from Jaune.

The two were standing across from each other, ready to fight. Jaune decided to try to get some answers from him, "So, I was right. You faked your injury to frame Yang."

Mercury smirked, "How'd you figure that out? Did that bimbo tell you what she saw?"

Jaune grit his teeth. "That and next time, remember that a shot gun blast at close range would leave a lot of blood." The two were slowly circling each other now. "And since Emerald didn't say anything, she must've been in on it. And possibly Cinder as well, right?"

"What makes you say that?" He said cockily.

"Because a guy can't hold the Maiden's power." Jaune said, taking a shot in the dark. Either Mercury wouldn't react and this was something else entirely or he'd confirm that this whole debacle was linked to the attack on Amber. Luckily, Mercury's eyes widened before he masked his shock. "Looks like I hit the nail on the head. So, which one of them holds the other half of the Fall Maiden's power?"

Mercury had an annoyed look, "So, you're in Ozpin's little group then?" He accused.

Jaune chuckled at that. "Not exactly. They told me a bit of what happened so that I would help them stop you. But I was coming after you all for my own reasons." He stopped his circling with that.

Mercury did the same, "And why is that?"

"Three reasons now. You framed Yang and drug her reputation through the dirt." He reached into his pockets. "Now, you just attacked Ruby, so you have hurt two people that I love in a _very_ short amount of time." Jaune pulled out his fire crystal in his left hand and his wind crystal in his right hand. His eyes shifted to their respective colors as he stared murderously at Mercury. "But my original reason was that the Fall Maiden you attacked was my first love and I swore to end the people who took her from me!" With that, the crystals stared to glow brightly before they shattered in his hands: his left arm was then cladded in flame and his right arm was engulfed in wind, looking like a tornado forming around his entire arm. Jaune instantly started to weave the storming wind into the burning fire. With its completion, Jaune slammed his fists together and his body released a navy blue aura from his body that heated the chunk of the hallway they were in.

Mercury was forced to jump back but the heat had him sweating immediately. The lingering heat was distorting the air around Jaune, who was staring at Mercury with navy blue eyes. "Since I know you're so skilled and I don't have my usual weaponry, I'm going to use my Combustion element against you. Time to make good on my word." Jaune raised his hand and quickly formed and fired a blue-flamed fireball at Mercury.

Mercury was able to roll out of the way of the flames and managed to get back to his feet to deliver a series of kicks to send air blasts at Jaune. Jaune aimed his hand at the air blast and they were instantly consumed by the same blue flames and stopped halfway before flying back at the owner. Mercury dodged most of the fire blasts but three of the blasts struck him in the chest and sent him flying back.

He slowly started to get to his feet when Jaune spoke up, "Guess you don't understand what Combustion means." Jaune made a circular motion in front of him with his right hand, which created a ring of blue flames that was rotating in the same direction he was motioning in. Jaune pulled his hand back before driving it in the center of the ring, which sent a vortex of flames directly at Mercury. Mercury quickly jumped away and started to run along the wall on Jaune's right.

Jaune shot his left hand over his extended right arm and sent another fireball, this one twice the size of the first, at Mercury. The silver haired assassin kicked off the wall to reach the other wall across the hallway and the fireball smashed against where he would've been. While in the air, Mercury shot a volley of bullets at Jaune. He quickly crossed his arms in front of him and a wall of blue flames erupted to protect him. The bullets melted before they touched Jaune. Mercury kicked off the wall with an air blast as soon as he touched it to charge at Jaune with a thrust kick.

Jaune quickly turned so that his crossed arms would take it but the force had him skidding back until his back hit the other wall. Jaune quickly reached his hand to the firewall before whipping it towards Mercury. The wall quickly shifted into a pillar before it shifted and lashed out at Mercury like a snake. Mercury kept jumping and flipping to avoid the torrent of flames following him. Jaune was using his left hand to control the flames as he used his right hand to reach under his vambracer. He gripped Kuroibarra's handle before he pulled his dagger free. He flipped the dagger into a reverse grip before he kicked off the wall with his aura to fly towards Mercury. Mercury dodged the flames again but turned in time for Jaune to cut across his chest with his dagger at high speed. When his feet hit the ground, he slid a bit on the ground but quickly spun in a circle with his left hand extended. The blue flames encircled them, forming a ring barely ten feet from them to prevent Mercury from escaping. They made eye contact before they charged at each other.

* * *

Mercury was on his last legs, the fight hadn't been going on for long but he was exhausted, in both stamina and aura. Jaune wasn't as skilled with his dagger as he was with his swords, but he clearly knew what he was doing with it. Mercury could've overpowered him but with the fire cutting him off, he was forced to stay close to the dagger wielder. Plus, if he focused too long on the blonde he was fighting, he would send flames at him from the ring directly into his blind spot. He did manage to get a few good kicks past his defenses but that spurred the blonde swordsman to attack more ferociously at him. He had very few options at this point.

He finally managed to grab the wrist of the hand Jaune was wielding his dagger with and went for a punch. Jaune caught it like it was nothing. The two stared into each other's eyes and Mercury gulped. His eyes weren't just cold, they were empty. Unlike the way his eyes had been when he threatened him in Combat Class, his eyes were cold but held the flames of anger behind them, his eyes now held nothing. The eyes of someone who had killed before and was ready to do it again without flinching. They were the eyes of a killer. His father had similar eyes. Mercury somehow found his voice and weakly spoke, "You've killed before."

"Three times." Jaune said neutrally. "And after today, it'll probably go up to six." Mercury could tell he was dead serious. He quickly jumped back as far as he could. He pumped as much of his aura into his right leg before releasing an air blast. He flew forward but flipped almost instantly, putting as much power behind this axe kick as he could. He had to finish this now.

Jaune brought his dagger up and used his left hand to support his wrist. He then focused his Semblance and the black blade quickly became red hot. And right before Mercury's kick was going to make contact, a foot-long blade of blue flames extended from the dagger. Mercury's eyes widened but it was too late. The blade of flames cut through his right leg. He had to quickly adjust his body to fall to the left side of Jaune and away from the blade of fire. He landed painfully on the ground and just looked in shock at his leg now on the other side of Jaune. "Mechanical legs?" Jaune said and bringing Mercury out of his stupor. He looked up to Jaune as he looked down at him with those same empty, navy blue eyes. "That's how you managed to frame Yang so well." He said with an edge to his voice.

Mercury tried to crawl away but Jaune grabbed the front of his shirt with his left hand before dragging him over to the wall and slamming him against it. Jaune stared into his eyes as he brought Kuroibarra above his head, ready to drive it into Mercury's chest. "This is for Amber, you son of a bitch." He said coldly before he brought his dagger down. However, he stopped when a familiar voice sounded throughout the Coliseum, the voice of Cinder.

"This is _not_ a tragedy. This was _not_ an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, safety, children, to men who claim to be our guardians, but are, in reality, nothing more than _men_. Our Academies' Headmasters wield more power than most armies and one was audacious enough to control both. They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here? One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference."

Something clicked with that for Jaune, "Pyrrha?" He looked back at Mercury. The emptiness his eyes held was replaced by anger. "What did you bastards have Pyrrha do!?"

Mercury was able to get some of his bravado back with Jaune's killing intent lowered slightly. "Wouldn't you like to know." Jaune shouted in anger and threw Mercury to the ground, creating a decent size crater. He then stomped on his chest and started to apply pressure to stop him from moving.

"And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching _his_ students? First a dismemberment, now this? Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither." That infuriated Jaune more and he brought his other foot down on the ball and socket joint of Mercury's right shoulder, dislocating it. Mercury screamed in pain but Cinder's speech continued. "Perhaps Ozpin felt as though defeating Atlas in the Tournament would help people forget his _colossal_ failure to protect Vale when the Grimm invaded its streets. Or perhaps this was his message to the tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting Kingdom with armed forces. Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong. But I know the existence of peace is fragile and the leaders of our Kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves. As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you the situation there is _equally_ undesirable. Our Kingdoms are on the brink of war, yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark. So, I ask you: When the first shots are fired…. who do you think you can trust?"

Once her speech was done, alarms started to go off and an alert of a threat level nine Grimm attack was being issued. Jaune's anger grew and he looked down at the broken Mercury below him. He smirked up at him through the pain. "So, what are you going to do? Play the hero or are you going to kill me."

Jaune didn't need to think before answering, "Both." He said with full conviction. His dagger grew the blade of flames again and he used it to slice off Mercury's other leg. He then stepped off Mercury and started to turn down the hallway. "With your injuries, you won't be going anywhere. So, either you'll be torn apart by Grimm or I'll know where you'll be when I'm done." He said coldly before running down the hall.

* * *

During his run, he managed to get the sheathe out of his vambracer and return his dagger to it. He then attached it to the back-right space on his belt, between his wind and fire clips. Once he got to the arena, he was in time to see a massive Nevermore standing there with a stunned Pyrrha staring at it. He also saw that Penny was lying there, split into three different pieces. His thought was brought back to the Nevermore when it screeched in pain. Jaune saw that Ruby had attacked it with one of Penny's swords.

He quickly flew through the air with his aura with that. "Get away from them!" Jaune create a dozen blue fireballs around himself, like giant will-o-wisps, before sending them all at the Grimm. The Grimm stumbled back and screeched again. Jaune landed in front of his girlfriends and he threw his arms to the side and his navy blue aura started surrounding his body. The wisps of blue flames in the air and the small embers that clung to the feathers of the Grimm, they just stopped moving, frozen in the air. Jaune threw his hands at the Nevermore and the flames congregated around it, engulfing it. It looked like a giant fireball by this point as all the Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training stared in awe at the display of elemental power.

Jaune was using all his control to burn this Grimm out of existence, but soon he felt light headed and his vision blurred. He fell to a knee and quickly shook his head. "Jaune!" He turned to see Ruby knelt beside him in clear concern. "Are you okay?"

Jaune nodded weakly, "Yeah, Rosebud. Elemental Feedback is all. Combustion can cause dehydration and possible hyperthermia. I really need some water." They looked back to the Nevermore as it screeched again. The flames were starting to dissipate but the Nevermore was still standing, even though over seventy percent of its body was burned. He looked down at Ruby and Jaune with hatred. "Damn thing is tough." Jaune said weakly.

The Nevermore lunged at the two and Jaune wrapped his arms around Ruby before putting himself between the Grimm and her. It was a vain attempt to save her but it was all he could think of. That was until a dozen or so lockers rained down and pinned the Grimm to the ground in front of them before it dissipated. They then saw SSSN, CFVY, ABRN, Flynt Coal and Neon Catt getting their weapons from the lockers.

Jaune was then brought into a bear hug by Nora, "Don't ever scare me like that again!"

"Nora…. air…" Jaune squeaked out. Nora then placed him on the ground. Ren just placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded to him.

He turned to Pyrrha as she spoke, "Ruby, I…I'm so sorry." She said with her eyes welling up as she held a piece of Penny's clothing.

Ruby looked down at that, "Me too. But it wasn't your fault."

"She's right." Jaune said as he walked over to Pyrrha and pulled her to her feet. "Cinder, Mercury, Emerald… they're the ones responsible for all this. And we have to make sure they don't take away anyone else." Pyrrha looked into his eyes and nodded in determination. She then used her Polarity to recall Milo and Akouo to her hands.

Jaune pulled out his scroll and used it to call his locker. Ruby looked at him expectantly and he handed her it. She used it to call her own locker before they both landed in the arena. He was about to go to it but someone grabbed his shoulder. He turned to see Sun holding a gallon jug of water. "Said you needed water." He said with a grin.

Jaune smiled at him, "I'm not gonna ask where you got this because I'm sure you stole it." He took it before pulling the cap off of it and chugged two-thirds of it before pouring the last third over his head. The water evaporated almost instantly due to the heat his body and Semblance were still generating. Jaune shook his head afterwards with the same smile, "And honestly, I don't care."

Jaune walked over to his locker and placed his swords on his back along with taking Gin's katanas and strapping them to the left side of his belt. He looked into the locker one last time before taking three soda can-like containers, although they were about twice the size of a standard can, and attaching them to the front-left side of his belt, between his earth and water clips. At that point, Griffons started to start filling the arena from above. Jaune drew Kakiri and Fukiri before quickly combining them into a longsword with navy blue circuits and edges. "Scorch! Shakukiri!"

Before they could engage the Grimm, they were bombarded with a volley of fireballs. All the students turned to see Port and Oobleck with weapons in hand. Port soon spoke to them, "Students! I think it would be best for you to leave."

Oobleck nodded, agreeing with his colleague. "This will surely go down in Remnant's history. I'd prefer it if my students could live to tell about it."

They all nodded and Jaune turned to the exit, "Let's go!" Jaune ordered and they all started to run towards the exit. Jaune was about to join them when a flash got his attention and he saw that it was Velvet taking his picture. She gave him a sheepish smile before she ran to catch up to her team. Jaune turned to his team and Ruby and they all nodded before following. They could hear the professors fighting the Grimm and Port shouting about 'placing bets now'. They all silently wished them luck.

* * *

The rag tag group of students were making their way through the Coliseum as fast as possible to get to the landing bay. They saw several Grimm on their way and took them out along with helping any civilians that were in trouble. They arrived in time to see Ironwood taking down an Alpha Beowolf singlehandedly. They stopped in front of him, "How bad is the situation?!" Jaune asked him, shelving his anger for the man for the time.

Ironwood looked at the group before speaking, "Grimm are crawling all over the city. The White Fang's invaded Beacon, and to make matters worse, some vagabond has seized one of my ships. Until we regain command, the skies are out of our control. So, I'm…" he stopped to shoot a Creep that tried to sneak up on him. "Going to take it back." Was all he said as he turned to his ship.

"And us?" Jaune asked.

Ironwood stopped and turned. "You have two choices. Defend your Kingdom and your school or safe yourselves." They all exchanged looks. "No one will fault you if you do."

He was interrupted when a group of Grimm started running down one of the halls, directly at them. They all reached for their weapons but Jaune pointed Shakukiri at the horde and released a stream of blue flames at the Grimm, incinerating them. He looked back at Ironwood with that, "That's my answer." Ironwood looked at him and nodded before getting on his ship. He flew off and Jaune looked at the group as a whole, "If you're ready for a fight, follow me." He quickly ran to one of the ships to fly it to Beacon and he could hear what sounded like all of them following him. They all got on the ship and were about to take off when they saw Ironwood's ship fall from the sky. Jaune saw Ruby move to the exit and he grabbed her hand. "What are you doing?" he asked her.

She looked at him with nothing but determination. "Someone has to stop that ship."

He wanted to argue with her but he knew she was right. He gave a tired sigh and cupped her cheek, "You better come back to me."

She nodded and gave him a quick peck before she jumped of the ship using her Semblance. Jaune could feel himself getting drained by this point. He dismissed his Semblance and checked his scroll to see he was at a quarter of his aura. He put his scroll back and took one of his aura shots before injecting himself with it. He threw the empty syringe out the ship and felt his aura rise to about three-quarters. They were nearing Beacon and he could see Grimm, Atlas Knights and White Fang causing a lot of damage. The students still down there were fighting their best but it didn't look good. "Today's is gonna be a long day." he said tiredly. He didn't even know half of it.

* * *

 **A/N- I know I could've built this up a bit more before jumping right into it. But I've been waiting 75 chapters to write this and you've all waited just as long, so I won't apologize, LOL. Hopefully, you'll all love to read this as much as I am writing it. Catch you all later!  
**


	77. The Battle for Beacon

Jaune just stared down at the chaos that had infected Beacon. He clenched his fist in anger at the pointless death and destruction. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see that Pyrrha was smiling weakly at him. He gently took her hand and returned the smile. His scroll went off with that. He took it from his belt and saw that it was a conference call with his older sisters. He immediately answered it. "How are you three doing?"

Blanc was the one to speak but he could clearly hear the sounds of combat in the background, "We're doing fine. We're helping to deal with the Grimm, rogue Knights and White Fang."

Jaune nodded, "How are Blake, Weiss and Yang?"

There was a bit of a silence before Noir answered him, "Blake and Weiss were dealing with Knights and White Fang. Weiss went after a Paladin that's making its way over to the main courtyard. Blake went after an Alpha Beowolf that went over to the cafeteria. I tried to follow but more Grimm got in my way. I'm sorry, Jaune."

Jaune closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Okay. Rouge, what about Yang?"

"She was dealing with Grimm around the area Blake was headed. I was gonna follow her but Mom and Dad are over there. They said they'd look after them."

Jaune nodded, "That's fine. You three follow Weiss to the main courtyard. The battle is getting out of hand here. We'll be joining the fight in a few minutes. Be ready to help your little brother out." He joked slightly.

"Look who grew up." Rouge teased. "How will we know you're there?"

Jaune smirked, "Trust me, it'll be hard to miss." He ended the call and looked at his team. "Duty calls." He said with a light grin. With that, he started to run to the exit. With them on his tail. As he reached the back of the ship, he didn't stop and dove off without losing speed. He tapped into his earth and lightning Semblances and started to fall faster with his increased weight. He aimed towards a group of Knights forming a firing line and started channel as much electricity as he could throughout his body. He impacted the center of the Knights and created a massive electrical explosion that destroyed the Knights and sent their scraps flying.

* * *

Rouge and the twins looked over to the lightning bolts shooting into the air. They were stunned for a bit before Rouge chuckled, "I think that was our brother."

Noir facepalmed and sighed, "Who else would that be?" she deadpanned.

Blanc had a small grin, "True but that's what makes Jaune who he is." They all grinned and agreed. "Let's go back up of brother and show these scoundrels some Arc fury." The two nodded in agreeance and ran in the direction of the light show; destroying any enemy in their way.

* * *

Jaune dusted himself off as he stood up from the crater he made. He looked around before seeing himself being surrounded by Grimm. He quickly popped his neck before gripping Inkiri and dropping into his laido stance. "Jumping head long into a battle, Pyrrha's gonna be pissed." He said with a small grin. A Beowolf jumped at him and he quickly drew his sword, releasing the blinding light while decapitating it. The Grimm were blinded and were quickly cut down by Jaune using his enhanced speed to deal with all of them. He stopped to breathe and nearly got hit by a dozen White Fang firing at him. Jaune stomped his foot and brought up a rock wall to stop the bullets. He sheathed Inkiri before gripping the hilt of its twin. He drew the sword horizontally and slashed the wall, causing it to explode forward and shower the White Fang in rock shrapnel. They all fell from the impact, most of them didn't have any aura to defend themselves properly.

Jaune turned to see more Knights coming at him and he dropped into his stance to attack them with Yokiri, but they were soon destroyed by a pink explosion. Jaune turned to see his team behind him and very annoyed. "Let's wait until after the battle for you to chew me out, deal?" Before they could answer, Jaune shot past them to slice an Ursa Major in half. He sheathed Yokiri and turned to them. "Where are the others?"

"They'll be here any minute." Nora said cheerfully. They then turned when they heard gunfire and saw the other students jumping out of the ship as well.

"Looks like it's time to get serious." Jaune drew Raikiri. And held his hand out to Nora. She grabbed it and she was flooded with as much electricity that she could handle. She chuckled darkly with that. They all turned and ran to join the other students.

The battle had continued but none of them knew how long exactly. They all kept fighting all the Grimm, Knights and White Fang that showed up. At some point, CRDL, BRNZ and NDGO all showed up to help with the battle. Around that time, Jaune noticed that Paladins were showing up more and older Grimm as well, but the White Fang were nowhere to be seen. They were all getting exhausted but kept fighting. Jaune was currently dealing with two Alpha Beowolves and he was having a hell of a time. They worked perfectly together. 'Guess that's how they survived for so long.' He thought. He turned quickly to see that his team was dealing with a Paladin. They were tiring and he had to get over there.

As soon as he had that thought, the Alphas charged as one and Jaune had to defend himself or get disemboweled. He heard a scream and saw Nora get knocked away by the Paladin with Ren shortly after. Jaune lost it. He threw Raikiri at one of the Alphas as he burst towards the other with electricity running through his hand. His sword got lodged in the Alpha's shoulder and howled in pain. As the other turned to its brother, Jaune appeared in front of it and drove his electricity covered hand through its chest. He pulled his arm free and shot off towards the other Alpha. He jumped and his feet landed on its chest. The speed he was moving at cause it to fall back but Jaune just grabbed his sword and kicked off it. As he did, he spun his body before Raikiri was free which resulted in the Beowolf losing that arm and its head. Jaune landed in a crouch and immediately shot towards his team.

As he was running, he took in everything: The Paladin was standing between all three of his teammates. Nora was back on her feet but her Semblance was done and she was out of grenades. Ren was kneeling and winded but still had ammo. Pyrrha was distracting the mech but was on the defensive. Jaune tapped into his fire Semblance, as well, and his body was surrounded by flames and electricity. He then slammed into the Paladin with a fire and electric fist, making it stumble back. His teammates took notice immediately. "Ren, open fire on it! Pyrrha, bind it!" He jumped off it and as he did, Ren fired every bullet in his clips into it. It targeted Ren but it couldn't move. It was completely covered in a black aura and Pyrrha was using all her concentration to hold it.

Jaune landed next to Nora, "You good?"

She nodded, "Just need a pick me up." She said with a tired grin.

Jaune returned it, "That and a bit more." He grabbed Yokiri from his belt and handed it to her. She stared at it wide eyed before looking at Jaune. "This may suit you better than me. You are the stronger one." She nodded in determination and collapsed Magnhild before taking the blade. Jaune channeled more electricity into her before spinning and throwing her at it.

Nora flew through the air before drawing the sword, "This is for you, Mom!" she shouted. She came down with the katana, slashing into the metal of the top of it. She landed on it and delivered a few more slashes, each one getting stronger then the last. She jumped off as Jaune burst in and slammed into it at his top speed. The two jumped back and locked eyes before charging again. They both jumped and aimed their blades for the shoulders and a few spectators were shocked to see them cut both arms off. As they landed, they immediately spun before jumping back at it and were able to bifurcate it. They stopped their attack and doubled over to catch their breath, Jaune was going through Elemental Backlash from using fire and lightning. Pyrrha stopped using her Polarity and the Paladin fell in a heap of metal.

Jaune stood up and ruffled Nora's hair. "Good job, Little Sis." She chuckled but they soon heard more Grimm and saw that a group of Boarbatusks were charging at Ren. He was still exhausted and couldn't run. Pyrrha started to run to him but she was further away than they were. Nora wasn't fast enough and Jaune was still going through Elemental Backlash. Jaune grabbed Inkiri and threw it, "Ren!"

Ren turned and caught it, his eyes widening slightly before they hardened. He spun around to face the Grimm and drew his master's and second mother's sword. The light blinded them and Ren was able to cut through two of them before Pyrrha gave him covering fire and ended the rest. He quickly sheathed the katana and looked down at the sword, "Thank you, Mother Gin." He said in a low voice.

After taking a bit to regain their breath, JNPR headed to where the other students were to see if they needed help. When they got there, they saw the teams dealing with more Paladins but not as many Grimm. They were about to join in when they saw another battalion of Knights coming towards them. Jaune sighed in annoyance. "I'll deal with them. You guys help the others and keep those swords safe you two." He added jokingly. The four turned their separate ways before running into battle.

Jaune drew Suikiri and used his reflexes to dodge the fire coming from the Knights or used his sword to deflect the shots. When he was halfway to them, he slashed his blade across the ground and used half his dust to form a wave to surge directly at them. The wave broke against the Knights and he shot an arc of lightning at the water to electrocute them. Jaune sighed, until he saw a second wave of Knights behind them. "You've gotta be kidding me." Was all he said as he jumped into the fray.

Jaune was using his reflexes to take down the Knights as quickly as possible without trying to burn through too much aura or dust. He was soon surrounded and was going to resort to another Advance Element when the Knights to his right were sliced in half by an air blade and the ones to his left were torn apart by metal whips. He was stunned and was almost attacked from behind, but a white blur got behind him and he felt the familiar presence of a Glyph behind him. "I thought you were smarter than to leave yourself open like that." Said Weiss, who was standing back to back with him.

He smirked, "I think I can afford to. You know, got my own Guardian Snow Angel watching over me."

He felt her reach her right hand back to gently take his left. "You're such a dolt." She said lovingly in her faux reprimanding voice.

"True but I'm your dolt. Let's do this!" Jaune shouted. The two spun clockwise, blades extended. Jaune using his dust to soak the Knights around them while Weiss used Myrtenaster to freeze them all. They stopped and were about to finish them when they heard a shout.

"Get clear!" said a familiar female voice. Jaune pulled Weiss close before jumping away with his aura. When they were away from the frozen Knights, they saw air blades and an air wall shatter them into bits. Jaune turned and was stunned to see Kuro and Shiro standing not far from them. "Well, that was something" Shiro said jokingly.

"Yeah. Kinda surprised to see you here." Jaune said to Kuro.

He just smirked ta him, "People sometimes need a God to give them a hand."

Weiss pulled away from Jaune a bit, "I ran into them and they helped me with the Paladin. We decided to stay as a group."

"Makes sense. I'm with every other team that was in the tournament." Jaune said before looking over to the other's. "Let's get over there." Weiss and Shiro nodded at that. Kuro did as well, but his was slightly reluctant. They ran over to help the others. But they didn't notice the figures standing on the rooftops.

* * *

"Have you heard from Mercury?" Cinder asked Emerald as she was recording everything that was happening.

She shook her head, "No ma'am. I haven't heard from him since I left the Coliseum."

"Hmmm. Try to contact him. Things are about to escalate." Cinder responded as her eyes flicked over to the mountain next to Vale.

Emerald nodded and took out her scroll to call Mercury. He eventually picked up, "Mercury, where are you? You were supposed to rendezvous with us."

"I'm still on the Coliseum." He said tiredly.

"What the hell are you doing up there still?" she asked in exasperation.

"That damn Arc happened! Bastard cut off my legs and dislocated my arm! I've been lucky to avoid any Grimm up here but not much else!" Mercury shouted at her over the scroll and Emerald had to pull her scroll away from her ear.

"Jaune did all that to you?" Cinder looked over at Emerald when she said that.

Mercury sighed, "Yeah. He knows that you have the Maiden's power and he is hellbent on killing us, especially you. Apparently, he had a thing with the Maiden and wants revenge."

Cinder gently stroke her chin, "Interesting. Emerald, take our ship and go retrieve Mercury. Mercury, stay put for now." She heard them both say 'Yes, ma'am.' Before Emerald ran off. She looked down and noticed the blonde fighting below and she smiled evilly. "You are becoming very interesting, my Dear Jaune. But what will you do about that." She said ominously as she turned to the mountain again.

* * *

Jaune and all the students were taking care of the remaining Grimm and the half a dozen Paladins. They looked like they could win this. That was until the ground started to shake. It was like an earthquake. They all looked around confused and Jaune tapped into his earth Semblance to try to figure out where it was coming from. He slowly but surely followed to the mountain and he felt something huge inside of it. His eyes flew open. "No way. No way, that's not possible!"

"Jaune, what's wrong?" Pyrrha asked concerned while Weiss looked on as well.

Jaune slowly turned to the mountain and a few others followed his gaze, just in time to see pieces of it break off and fall, revealing glowing red eyes underneath. The mountain top exploded, revealing to all a giant Grimm the likes few have seen: the Grimm Dragon. It started to fly towards Beacon and everyone just stared at it in a terrifying awe. Jaune was soon shaken by someone grabbing his shoulder. He turned to see Ren looking at him with a mix of fear and anxiety. "Can you take care of that thing?"

Jaune looked back at it and concentrated. 'I might be able to hit it with Void, but I've never physically shot it that far before. Plus, if I miss, it'll take out a good part of Vale.' Jaune closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, too may risks at this point." He looked back at Ren and he nodded grimly.

Nora, Pyrrha and Weiss looked on confused on what they were talking about. "What are you two talking about?" Weiss asked.

Jaune was about to speak, but the Dragon was releasing some black substance that was creating more Grimm. Said Grimm started to charge towards them. SSSN and CRDL stood in a line, getting ready to meet the Grimm. JNPR and Weiss were about to meet them, when Pyrrha and Jaune saw Ozpin. He was standing by the tower and was just looking at them meaningfully. The two turned to each other and asked the question. Their eyes hardened and nodded. Pyrrha started to make her way over to him. Jaune was about to follow but Nora spoke up, "Where's she going?"

He turned to Ren, Nora and Weiss. He decided to tell them the truth. "To tip the scales in our favor. And I need to go to. You three stay here and keep fighting. Blanc, Noir and Rouge will be here soon to back you up." Before they could speak, Jaune pulled his two honorary siblings into a hug, "Stay safe. You hear me?" he felt the two nod in response and he broke away from them.

He turned to Weiss and walked over to her. He pulled her in for a close hug before he gently placed his hand on her cheek and gave her the most loving kiss he could. She was shocked but she returned it. They pulled apart and he looked into her eyes, "Weiss, I love you. Never forget that, please." Weiss didn't know how to respond from the sheer amount of emotion in his voice, so she nodded at him. He smiled at her before he slowly pulled away and ran after Pyrrha. The three were stunned. The way her spoke made it sound like he wasn't coming back.

They couldn't think on it for long before they had to run to deal with the newly formed Grimm and Paladins still running around. The students were doing everything possible to stop the Grimm and Paladins but they were on their last legs. Velvet was even forced to use her weapon: using it to form copied weapons of Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Blake, Coco, Sun, Nora and even Penny to deal with a couple of Paladins. Although she was taken out by a third shortly after that. Weiss finally had enough of everything and charged forward using her Glyphs to make her move faster and faster. As she was moving, another Glyph appeared behind her and to her shock, the arm and sword of the Arma Gigas formed. And protected herself and Velvet as she stood in front of her upper classmate. Before it sliced it clean down the middle. She was completely exhausted with that and before anyone could celebrate, another Paladin was running at them at top speed, this one was a more advanced model though. Sun decided to say what they were all thinking, "You have got to be kidding me!"

"You kids did great." Said a teasing voice from behind them. They turned to see Rouge Arc walking up to them with her elder sister right behind her. She grinned, "But, why don't you let the professionals deal with this one?" She quickly pulled out her rifle and loaded in a special clip of her's. She then began to open fire on the Paladin as her sisters ran to engage it. Every bullet hit and released a devastating explosion. The bullets were made with a combination of Gravity and Explosive dust for maximum damage. Meanwhile, Blanc was running on the left with her sword shining with her white aura and Noir was running on the right with her sword shining like her twin's but black. They both stopped and in complete sync, swung their swords. Blanc swung from over her left shoulder and Noir swung from her right shoulder. Doing so released two diagonal blades of their respective colored energy. The blades met and fused perfectly to form a X-shaped grey energy attack. The already damaged Paladin took it head on and it was sliced into quarters before they exploded. The twins turned back to the group with their swords rested at their sides, not even looking winded. Rouge turned as well, resting her rifle on her shoulder. The students just stared in awe at the three Huntresses. Rouge chuckled, "I never get tired of that."

"We better get moving." Noir said out loud, gaining their attention. "That Grimm Dragon is circling the school and the White Fang are pulling out."

Blanc nodded, "We better make it to a safe area and evacuate to a secured zone in Vale. You're all exhausted and will only get yourselves inured or worse if you stay."

They all nodded reluctantly. They all started to follow the Arcs to the safe area. Although, six of them were worried. The Arc sisters were worried for their brother and parents. Ren and Nora were concerned for the honorary brother and leader, as well as Pyrrha. And Weiss was worried for her team and her boyfriend. All hoping they would be okay.

* * *

A few minutes before all of that, Blake was chasing after the Alpha Beowolf. She lost sight of it and soon heard a wounded scream. She looked into the burning remains of the cafeteria and to her horror, saw Adam throwing an Atlas Soldier. "No…Adam?" she said in fear.

Adam heard her and turned to her with a creepy grin, "Hello, my darling." Blake slowly started to back away in fear as Adam continued to speak. "Running away again? Is that what you've become, my love? A coward?" his words were dripping with venom with those last words.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked weakly.

"You and I were going to change the world, remember? We were destined to light the fires of revolution!" he said angrily as he stepped on the chest of an Atlas student. He drew his sword, ready to stab the poor young man. "Consider this a spark."

Blake quickly charged forward, drawing her sword and clashing with Adam. They were pushed off the student and stand with their blades locked. "I'm not running." She said in determination.

"You will." Adam said simply as he kicked her away and knocking her to the floor. A Creep ran in to attack her but was shot by Adam. "But not before you suffer for your betrayal, my love." He smiled before walking towards her. "This could've been our day! Can't you see that!?"

"I never wanted this! I wanted equality! I wanted peace!" she shouted back at him as she moved herself into kneeling position. She shifted Gambol Shroud into its gun form and fired at Adam, but he just blocked it with his sword.

"What you want is impossible!" he sheathed his sword and backhanded her across the face, knocking her over again.

As she was lying there, she suddenly remembered all the time she spent with her team and JNPR, along all the time she was with Jaune. That just solidified her resolve. She looked back at him in anger. "It is possible! I've had people who trust me and care for me, despite being a Faunus! I've found someone who loves me, despite him being human and what I used to be! And when he tells me he does, I know it's the truth! He loves me more than you ever did and I love him just as much! Peace, equality and love are possible! You just don't want that, you just want death and destruction!"

Adam felt a surge of anger with that and drew his sword. He placed it at her throat but she didn't flinch. "I can understand that delusion because all I want is you, Blake." She started to raise her weapon but he kicked it out of her hand before pinning her arm down with the same foot. "And as I set out upon this world and deliver the justice mankind so greatly deserves, I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love."

He was interrupted when he heard someone and both looked. There was Yang, fighting White Fang members while shouting, "Blake! Where are you!?"

Adam looked down at Blake and saw how terrified she was. He then spoke to her in a sinister tone, "Starting with her." Adam removed his blade from her throat before stabbing her in the left hip. She cried out in pain and Yang looked over to them. He stood and turned to Yang as he removed his blade from her.

"Get away from her!" Yang shouted.

Blake reached out to her, "No…please…" she said weakly.

Yang screamed in anger as her Semblance activated. She leapt towards Adam with her fist pulled back and tears in her eyes. Adam drew his sword at incredible speed as his Semblance activated. His sword cut through her aura and as she fell, the lower half of her right arm separated from the upper half. Yang lost consciousness as her aura and blood splattered from her wound. She landed on the ground unmoving. Adam slowly started to walk towards Yang's unconscious form and swung his sword, casting blood from the blade. But before he could reach her, Blake threw herself between them. She stared up at him with determination and anger. Adam frowned before speaking, "Why must you hurt me, Blake?"

He then swung his sword, intent on removing her head. Blake was about to use her Semblance to save them when a wall of golden light appeared and stopped Adam's blade. Both were confused but Adam jumped back on instinct. Lucky for him, he did because a giant silver blade came down right where his head was. He looked at the wielder of the greatsword to see none other than Noah Arc, with fury in his eyes. He was wearing a silver chest plate, pauldrons and gauntlets along with his usual attire. "How dare you touch my future daughter-in-laws!" he shouted in anger as his silver-grey aura started to surface around him.

Blake was stunned until she turned to see Alexandra kneeling before her. She placed her hand over Blake's wound and used her aura to heal it. "That better, Blake?" she asked in concern. She now realized that Alexandra was wearing light armor on her forearms, shins and chest as well.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked stunned.

"Jaune asked us to watch out for his girls." Alexandra said before looking at Yang sadly. "Looks like we were a bit late." She placed her hand over Yang's upper arm and soon a golden, ovoid barrier surrounded it. "That should stop the bleeding for the time. And with this we'll be able to fix her up." She held up her other hand to show another ovoid barrier holding the other half of her arm. Blake was just confused. "My Semblance should prevent the decay or infection from occurring until we can reattach it."

"Alexandra." They both turned to Noah as he spoke. "Take the girls and leave. I'll deal with this one." His voice held an edge to it. The two nodded and each threw one of Yang's arms over her their shoulders before carrying her out of the cafeteria. Noah pulled Argentum Mors free from the ground and held the handle in both hands, ready to destroy one Adam Taurus.


	78. The Battle Rages

The two combatants stood apart from each other, both in their own stances. Adam in his laido stance and Noah was standing with is feet apart, knees slightly bent and both hands on his greatsword, holding the massive blade at a forty-five-degree angle from his body. Neither moved, waiting for the other to make the first move. Adam decided to speak but still readying himself for anything. "Before I kill you, why did you interfere before? You said something about a daughter-in-law, were you referring to that blonde?"

Noah answered, his eyes never moving from Adam, "No, I was talking about Yang _and_ Blake." He saw Adam tense slightly, and he immediately used his aura to close the distance between them before bringing Argentum Mors in a downward swing. Adam managed to jump out of the way but as soon as the blade hit the ground, a massive force of wind was generated. It pushed Adam back a few more feet, sent the tables still there flying, shattered the remaining windows and extinguished the burning flames. Adam looked back to see a ten-foot-wide crater with the blade at the epicenter of it. Noah lifted the blade and rested it on his right shoulder as he looked at Adam, still angry.

Adam got back into his stance. 'This human is strong. All that from a single swing, I can't allow him to get a direct hit. He's fast, as well. This'll be difficult.' He thought to himself. "What do you mean by that?" he said with an edge.

Noah sighed in annoyance but never dropping his guard. "Like I said, my son is together with both Yang and Blake. And I interfered because you hurt both of them. I see them as part of my family and them getting hurt by someone like you is unforgiveable."

Adam growled in anger, "Then I'll be sure to kill your son when I'm done with you! To make Blake suffer all the more for her betrayal!" With that, Adam pulled Blush's trigger, sensing Wilt hilt first at Noah. He instinctively raised his left gauntlet to block the projectile. Adam was there in an instant to grab Wilt before going for a proper swing. Noah just swiped his left hand in a backhand motion with his silver-grey aura around it. When Wilt met the gauntlet, a small explosion was released and sent Adam against the far wall. He fell off it but stayed on his feet. He glared at Noah, "What was that?!"

Noah just extended his left hand with his palm facing the Faunus, "Assail." He said simply before a silver-grey orb of energy, the size of a basketball, rocketed towards Adam. He was able to bring up Wilt in time to absorb it but the force behind the attack still sent him through the wall behind him and into the grounds of Beacon. Adam tumbled across the grounds before he laid on his stomach. He slowly rose to his feet and shook his head. He may have absorbed the attack but the force behind it did a number on his aura, Adam was currently sitting at half and Noah was barely below full before. Although, his Semblance was working at full capacity from all the energy he just absorbed. His hair was ominously glowing red, as well as his clothing. He had more than enough to finish this human for his interference.

As he had that thought, Noah burst through the remains of the wall Adam just broke through. He closed the distance between them as quickly as before. Adam brought up his sword to block the attack while jumping backwards, he was not about to tank a hit from this man. He succeeded but before he could press his advantage the wind generated from his swing sent him back a few more feet. Once he was on solid ground, Noah had closed the gap, yet again, and was swinging at him horizontally this time. Adam avoided it again but the blade was coming at him almost immediately afterwards. As soon as one swing was complete, another was on its way. Despite the massive weight of the greatsword, Noah was wielding it like it was weightless; a true testament to his strength.

Adam was in a worst-case scenario. He couldn't afford to break Noah's barrage of attacks because his Semblance couldn't absorb anymore kinetic energy and taking any of his hits would leave his aura at who knows what level. The only way to end this would be with his Semblance but he had no openings to exploit. He would guess that this man was up there with the likes of Goodwitch with this sheer amount of skill.

Adam aimed Blush at Noah's head and was about to fire. Noah was able to jump backwards and as he was doing that, he released another orb of energy at Adam, making him jump away as well. The two were standing a good ten feet away from each other and Adam grinned, 'This is it!' he thought. He dropped into his stance, ready to slice this human in half.

"Gonna use your Semblance, are you?" Noah asked as he popped his neck. Adam stopped for a second as Noah continued, "You're able to absorb kinetic energy before releasing it in a single strike. That allows you to cut through practically anything, aura included. But, there's a limit to how much you can absorb, right?" Adam was stunned by this. This human figured out his Semblance so easily but he wasn't afraid or worried. He seemed so nonchalant about the whole situation. "To answer the question you're probably thinking. I saw you stop Blake's bullets before your attack on Yang, right before I could interfere. I guessed that had something to do with your Semblance and I've been fighting you in a way to prove my theory and keep you from using it."

Adam regained his voice, "So then you should be begging for mercy or praying to Oum to save you." Adam said sadistically.

Noah rolled his eyes, "An Arc doesn't beg, whelp. Besides, you're not the only one with a powerful Semblance." With that, his silver-grey aura erupted off him like an inferno. He pulled Argentum Mors over his right shoulder with both hands on the handle. His aura started to gather around the blade, making it glow with his aura. The aura continued to fly off the tip of the blade, looking like silver flames were shooting off it. "I've only ever used this to take out hordes of Grimm at once, but I've lost my patience. So, let's see what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object!"

That galvanized Adam to charge forward. Noah swung his blade over his shoulder horizontally and as he did, the aura erupted off the blade. It looked like a massive tidal wave of silver flames surging over the ground and ripping it apart. Adam used his Semblance to try and cut through it. His blade met the aura wave but was stopped. "Impossible!" he shouted as he was being pushed backwards. It looked like the wave was about to engulf the Faunus, when a flash of crimson was released from him.

* * *

The students standing at the safe area, waiting to be brought to Vale soon all turned to see the massive silver wave tear through Beacon and into the Emerald Forest. They were all stunned but eventually, Sun found his voice, "What the hell was that?!"

"That would be our father's Semblance." Blanc said in a matter of fact tone.

"Noah can do _that_!?" Weiss asked in total shock while pointing at where the wave of aura was.

Blanc nodded and Noir continued, "Our father's Semblance is the opposite to our mother's. He is able to use his aura to form offensive attacks. From 'simple' aura blasts to giant attacks like you saw. That one was one of his three most powerful techniques. And his Semblance is known simply as Assail."

They were all quiet until Nora spoke up, "Kinda forgot how scary Papa Arc can be."

Ren nodded, "Especially, when someone threatens his family."

Rouge chuckled, "You have no idea." She grew serious with that, "Although, if he used that, it must've been important."

"That's an understatement." They all turned to see Alexandra and Blake supporting an unconscious Yang.

"Blake, Yang!" Weiss shouted as she ran to them. "Are you two okay?!"

They didn't say much as they slowly laid Yang on the ground. They all gasped when they saw that Yang's arm was missing and her remaining upper arm was covered in one of Alexandra's barriers. "This is because of me." Blake said weakly and everyone turned to her. She was crying as she held Yang's remaining hand. "If she hadn't tried to save me, this wouldn't have happened."

Weiss wrapped her teammate in a hug. Blake found no comfort in this but stopped crying when she felt a flick to her forehead. She opened her eyes and saw Alexandra looking at her with an annoyed look. "This isn't your fault, Blake. It was because of that Faunus. He cut off Yang's arm and he was the one that stabbed you. You didn't do this." Blake was about to say something but Alexandra raised finger to her, "Not a word." She said with a commanding tone that shut her up instantly. "Whatever your past connection to him was, no matter how much you blame yourself, you did not do this. Yang won't blame you for this, neither will Ruby. And especially, not Jaune. And hurting yourself over it is only allowing him to win. And you won't give him that satisfaction, will you?" she challenged.

Blake looked at Alexandra and then to Weiss, who had a look of agreeance, before she looked down at Yang. She thought over all of this and she couldn't find fault in her words. As much as she wanted to run, that would let Adam win; along with hurting her team and Jaune. She wouldn't do that to them, not ever. She wiped her eyes and looked at Alexandra with a determined fire in her eyes. Alexandra smiled at her. "That's the girl that stole my son's heart." She said teasingly, which caused Blake to blush. "Now, let's get to business." She said seriously, again.

Everyone was shocked to see Alexandra holding the other half of Yang's arm in another of her barriers. Before anyone could ask, she laid that half of her arm right next to the rest of it. The two barriers overlapped before they fused into a bigger ovoid barrier. Alexandra then placed both her hands on her barrier before closing her eyes. Her golden aura came to the surface, but much calmer than her husband's or son's ever showed. Unlike a raging fire, it looked like golden water slowly and calmly flowing down her form. The barrier soon started to shine brilliantly and everyone could see Yang's arm slowly healing. Everyone was just staring in awe besides the Arc sisters, Ren and Nora. While they were mesmerized, Rouge decided to explain what was going on, "Our mom is kinda awesome. Her Semblance is completely defensive, but when she focuses more aura into her barriers, she can accelerate someone's healing process."

"Although, because of that Faunus' Semblance, this will be more difficult." Alexandra said with her eyes still closed. Too focused on what she was doing to open them. "There is still some of his aura in her wounds, and it is working against my healing ability. We could wait for the foreign aura to dissipate but then too much time would pass and I wouldn't be able to rejoin her arm."

"Is there any other way?" Blake asked, fearful or her partner.

Alexandra continued with her eyes still closed, "I need to overpower and outlast the foreign aura with my own but I don't have enough at this point."

"We'll give you our aura." Weiss said instantly with Blake nodding with her teammate.

Alexandra just shook her head, "You two don't have much left, it wouldn't be enough. And, regrettably, you three need your aura in case anything else comes along." She said the last part to her daughters, who nodded somberly. Alexandra then felt two pairs of hands on her's, one set on each one of her's. She opened her eyes and saw Nora on her right and Ren on her left.

"We'll give you our aura." Nora said with her usual smile.

Ren nodded with her, "Yang is our friend too and we owe Jaune a lot, this is the least we can do."

Alexandra smiled at the two and closed her eyes again, "You two are definitely Arc's at heart. We must get those adoption papers sorted after this." The two of them smiled and started to channel their auras into Alexandra to try to heal the blonde brawler.

* * *

Noah relaxed his stance. He brought Argentum Mors back over to rest on his right shoulder as he looked on at the destruction of his attack. It was a sight he knew well but still showed him how dangerous he could really be. The grounds of Beacon were torn up from a few feet in front of him all the way into the Emerald Forest, the damage went on for a mile or so. The ground was now scorched and a giant trench ten to fifteen feet deep depending on where it was, and about thirty feet wide was left in its place. The trees of the Emerald Forest were incinerated and any on the outskirts of the trench were still ablaze. It looked like a meteor had come down and tore its way through Remnant.

Noah sighed, "So, you managed to survive, impressive." He turned slightly to his right to see Adam on a knee. He was still holding onto Blush and Wilt in different hands. His right sleeve and glove were burned away from the intensity of Noah's attack, revealing he had fresh second and third degree burns from his hand to his shoulder. His entire hand and the lower half of his forearm were completely black. He had milder burns on the right side of his chest, face and leg. Along with the right side of his mask having severe cracks running through it. He was breathing raggedly and barely conscience. "That maneuver you pulled was a good idea. You released all the aura you had left into that sword swing after you realized you couldn't cut through my attack. That combined with your Semblance gave you enough force to push yourself out of the way of my attack. But, I suggest you give up before you force me to remove your head."

Adam took another ragged breath before he lifted his left hand and pointed Blush at him with a shaky grip. Noah's eyes hardened, "So be it." He put his left hand back on his sword's handle and raised the blade off his shoulder. He was about to attack Adam when the wind picked up and a couple of Bullheads came into view. The first started to open fire on Noah and he was forced to use his sword to block the bullets, using his left hand to support the broadside of his blade. That gave the second bullhead enough time to land and allow the Lieutenant to help Adam onto it. By the time Noah could react, the bullheads were already fleeing with Adam safely on board one of them. Which one, he couldn't tell. Noah growled in anger before impaling Argentum Mors into the ground with an angry shout, "Next time, you won't escape from me. That I swear." Noah vowed as he stared at the bullheads in the distance.

* * *

During that time, Ruby was still fighting her way through a swarm of Griffons on the Atlas Flagship. She just cut down the last one and she was trying to regain her breath. She then heard a snapping sound and turned to see the girl who was with Roman, taking her picture on a scroll as her clothes shifted from an Atlas uniform to her usual attire. Ruby quickly engaged her but Neo just kept somersaulting, ducking, or flipping away from all of Ruby's swings. Ruby eventually planted Crescent Rose into the hull of the ship and fired at Neo. As the bullet made contact, Neo shattered in an illusion to reveal Roman as he fired a shot at her from Melodic Cudgel. That sent Ruby a few feet back before she lodged Crescent Rose into the ship again to stop herself.

Roman slowly started to walk over to her, "Little Red, you are just determined to be the hero of Vale, aren't you?"

"What are you doing!? Without these ships, the Grimm will destroy everything!" she shouted back.

"That's the plan!" he shouted over the winds. Roman went to fire at her but she managed to swat his weapon away. As she did, Neo reappeared and kicked her in the cheek while using the momentum to flip her onto her back. Neo the followed up with a roundhouse kick and rear horse kick that nearly sent Ruby off the airship.

"But why!? What do you get out of it!?" Ruby asked, confused.

"You're asking the wrong question, Red! It's not what I have to gain, it's that I can't afford to lose!" Roman replied annoyed. Ruby charged again but was intercepted by Neo, then the two criminals started to work in perfect sync before Roman fired, yet another shot that nearly sent Ruby off the airship again. Ruby was lucky she held onto her weapon, she was trying to regain her breath as Roman continued, "I may be a gambling man, but even I know that there are some bets you just don't take." Neo then extended her blade from her parasol and dragged it across the surface of the ship as she walked towards the exhausted reaper. "Like it or not, the people that hired me are going to change the world! You can't stop 'em, I can't stop 'em, and even your blonde boyfriend can't stop em!"

Ruby's eyes widened with that. As Roman mentioned Jaune, the memory of him telling her and her team about being ready to take a life came back to her. 'I might have to fight seriously.' She started to shake slightly and remembered her fight at the CCT. 'Not again, not again!' She thought to herself. 'I can't do it, I can't.'

That was until she remembered another thing Jaune said to her, "So, don't think about it anymore. I'll always be here for you, to make sure you stay the Ruby we all love."

Ruby calmed slightly, 'That's right. Jaune will always be there for me. This may change me but Jaune will be able to help me through this. I don't know if this is the right thing…' She looked back at the criminals and her eyes hardened a bit. 'But if I don't, more people will die.'

Roman had a smirk on his face, "You know the old saying, 'If you can't beat 'em-" Roman was interrupted when Ruby disappeared in a flurry of rose petals and reappeared at Neo's side, her rifle barrel a few inches form her head. Neo's eyes widened as Ruby pulled the trigger. The bullet didn't shatter Neo's aura but it had enough force to send Neo off the airship. Neo, luckily, stayed conscience and opened her parasol. Although she gasped when she realized she was at the mercy of the Grimm still roaming the skies. Roman reached out frantically for his partner, "NEO!"

"I don't care what you say!" Roman quickly turned back to Ruby. "We _will_ stop them and I _will_ stop you! Bet on THAT!" Ruby charged at Roman at her top speed. Roman fired another shot at her but caught it with the hook of his cane to throw it at her in an arc. Ruby quickly jumped into the air before firing a series of shots, sending her spinning down towards Roman as a red and black buzz saw. Roman quickly used the hook of his cane like a grappling hook to pull himself away from the reaper. Ruby's blade impaled into the ship again. Luckily, Roman was still with in her range. She used her Semblance in tangent with her bullets to send herself flying at Roman with the blade at the end of the shaft pointed at him. Roman was able to avoid it but realized his mistake too late, he moved into the path of the actual blade of the scythe. He brought up his cane to defend himself but the force still sent him tumbling across the airship and his aura barely holding on.

Roman slowly got into a kneeling position as Ruby prepared herself for what was next, "You got spirit, Red! But this is the real world! The real world is cold! The real world doesn't care about spirit!" His monologue was stopped when a bullet hit the ship next to him.

Ruby had her sights trained on him, "Maybe the world is cold, but if people can work together, they can create enough warmth and light to change this world! I believe that and so does every Huntsman and Huntress down there! And I won't let you have your way!"

Roman chuckled before he stood up and pointed Melodic Cudgel at her, "You'll have to kill me to do that, Red. Do you have it in you?"

Ruby was about to pull the trigger, when she saw a giant Griffon, probably an Alpha version, flying towards Roman from behind. She quickly took aim and fired a single shot. The bullet went through its eye, killing it, but its momentum carried it forward. The Griffon crashed into the unsuspecting Roman, dragging the two towards Ruby. She quickly dove out of the way as the Griffon and Roman crash through the airship. An explosion could be heard from within and the airship started to stall. As it was falling, Ruby ran to the edge and jumped off. She started to fire at the ground like a pogo-stick to slow her descent. She eventually landed on the rooftops of Vale as the airship crashed into the ground. She sighed as she saw all the rogue Knights and Paladins shut down. "Now to find the others." She said to herself as she ran towards Beacon. She was glad she didn't have to go as far as she was prepared to, but that was overshadowed by her worry for her friends, team and boyfriend. And she was right to worry.

* * *

 **A/N- Next chapter is here! I was originally planning to put the events in the vault at the end of this chapter but decided against it. That'll be the beginning of the next chapter and I hope you're all ready for the climatic battle, because I'm pulling out all the stops! See ya all in the next update!  
**


	79. Maidens- Fall and Pseudo

The elevator opened into the Vault. As soon as the doors opened Ozpin, Jaune and Pyrrha sprinted out of it. They covered the full distance of the vault in a matter of minutes. None of them, said a word, none were needed however. They knew what was going to happen next. The aura transfer machine came into sight and Jaune stopped, he stared at his former lover one more time. His eyes held sadness and fury in equal parts. Pyrrha gently laid a hand on his arm, "Jaune?" she asked weakly.

Jaune turned to her and gently took her hand in his, "I'm okay, Pyr. This is _your_ choice. You sure about this?"

Pyrrha looked at Jaune with determination but also fear. She nodded, "We need this, Jaune. I'm ready."

Jaune pulled her close and gave her the most loving kiss he could muster at this point. They broke apart and rested their foreheads together. "I'll be right here for you." He told her with full conviction.

"Pyrrha! Get to the pod!" Ozpin shouted. The two broke apart and Pyrrha ran to her pod, "Jaune, if you'd like to help, you-"

"I know my job, Ozpin. Just get this over with." Jaune interrupted the Headmaster with an edge to his voice. He gave Pyrrha one last look before turning around. He drew Raikiri and activated his Semblance in one swift movement.

Ozpin went back to the controls and typed on the keyboard. The second pod opened and Pyrrha gave one last look to Jaune before she climbed into the pod that closed shortly after. She closed her eyes and prayed that this would work and she would still be herself afterwards.

"Are you ready?" Ozpin asked her. She looked over to him and nodded. "I…. I need to hear you say it." Ozpin asked desperately.

Pyrrha took a deep breath, "Yes."

"Thank you, Miss Nikos." Ozpin answered, sincerely. He then pressed a few more buttons on the screen and Amber's pod raised up. Amber began glowing orange with her aura and her eyelids began to flutter. Jaune's now, yellow aura also weakly came to the surface and he knew it had started. The orange energy started to travel along the pipes connecting the pods and Pyrrha was soon surrounded by the same energy. As the energy surrounded her, she began to scream.

Jaune turned around instantly, "Pyrrha!" he shouted before gripping his own chest in pain. He screamed as well as his aura started to act out wildly. It wanted to get to the Maiden's power, whether to join with it once again or claim it for itself was unknown to him. But regardless, it was painful.

Ozpin looked between his two students before looking away, "I'm so sorry." He said brokenly.

Suddenly, Jaune spotted a black arrow flying through the air, directly towards Amber. Jaune fought through the pain and flung his left arm towards it. An arc of lightning shot from his hand and destroyed the arrow. Before he could register what happened, two more arrows were flying through the air: one towards the controls of the machine and the second towards Pyrrha. Jaune swung Raikiri, another arc burst from the blade and intercepted the arrow aimed at his girlfriend. He turned to the third but it was too close to the machine to fire another bolt. He quickly absorbed all the lightning dust in Raikiri and used that electricity to push his speed as far as possible. He ran towards the final arrow, the world almost moving in slow motion around him. He was getting closer as the arrow was drawing even closer to the machine. He was reaching out to it and was about to grab the arrow before it started to glow orange. Jaune realized what was happening but couldn't do anything about it, the arrow exploded. His aura took the brunt of the explosion but it still sent both Jaune and Ozpin back several feet and blasted the two pods away from the central machine. The process was interrupted and the energy went back to Amber.

Jaune and Ozpin were laying on the ground. They were still reeling from the explosion when they heard the sound of heels clicking past them. Jaune's senses soon came back to him and he tried to stand, only for him to fall to his knees once again. He looked around, dazed, and his eyes found Cinder, dressed in her red dress, standing over Amber's pod with a black bow in hand. She had a cruel smile on her face, "My dear Jaune, you now have a choice to make; who will live? The Maiden?" She pointed her bow at Amber. "Or your beloved?" she raised her hand with a fireball in it. Jaune followed where she was aiming to see Pyrrha trying desperately to escape her pod.

Jaune tried to stand again but failed. He quickly tapped into his earth Semblance but as he did, Cinder sent her fireball towards Pyrrha. Jaune quickly held his hand out to Pyrrha and a rock wall erupted from the ground to stop it. He quickly tuned back to Cinder, she already had her bow drawn and an arrow nocked. The arrow flew and impaled Amber in the chest. Amber gasped as her eyes flew open then slowly closed. "NO!" He shouted desperately. His brown aura shifted to black and he cleared the several foot distance between him and Cinder, almost instantly. He got behind her and kicked her away, much to her shock. His aura shifted back to brown right after he tore the pod door open. He knelt down and pulled Amber into his arms. The black arrow turned to dust as he did so. "Amber, please, be okay. Don't leave me again."

Her eyes slowly opened and she looked into Jaune's eyes. The widened very slightly before a weak smile came across her face. "Jaune? I knew you'd come to save me. A little late though." She tried to chuckle but it became a coughing fit for her. Her breathing was labored but she continued to speak. "I'm kinda tired, Jaune, I think I'm going to rest for a bit. It was nice to see you one last time." She weakly reached up and cupped his cheek. "Remember, I loved you. All the time we spent together, I don't regret a second of it." Her eyes started to fog over. "Don't let my death destroy you. Do that for me, please?"

Jaune had tears running down his face and he quickly nodded. Amber smiled at him before her last breath left her. Her head lent to the side and her body went limp as her hand fell from his face. "I loved you too, Amber." Jaune said weakly before he shouted in anguish. He just lost Amber, for the second time.

The orange energy burst from Amber's body and flew into Cinder, who was picking herself off the ground after Jaune's kick. She began to glow before floating into the air as long trails of flame formed around her eyes and orange energy swirled around her. Pyrrha used her Semblance to rip the door off her pod before throwing it at the newly realized Maiden. Cinder knocked it away like it was nothing as she descended to the ground. Pyrrha leapt out of the pod and charged, calling her weapons to her with her Polarity. However, Ozpin put out his arm, stopping her. "Take Jaune and get out of here! Find Glynda, Ironwood, Qrow! Bring them here right away! The tower cannot fall!"

"But I can help." Pyrrha responded.

Ozpin turned to stare into her eyes, "You'll just get in the way."

"No." said a familiar but cold voice. The Headmaster and gladiator turned to see Jaune gently lay Amber on the ground before standing and turning to Ozpin. His brown aura acting like an inferno and his right eye glowing brown, along with brown flames erupting from it in a similar fashion to Cinder's. They could see the dried tears on his face and once again his eyes were cold, the eyes of a killer. " _You're_ in the way."

"Really now?" Cinder smirked more. "You think you can take me on? Such arrogance." Jaune opened his left hand and a rock the size of a baseball broke away from the ground to fly into it. He pulled the arm back as the rock started to glow brown before he threw it and it flew like a bullet. Cinder shot a fireball at it but the aura enhanced rock burst through it. "What?!" she said in shock and stepped to the side for it to just barely miss her. Jaune shot at her with his aura with a rock gauntlet around his right hand, it was glowing with his aura as well. He threw his punch and she was forced to cross her arms to block the attack. The force sent her flying further back and the rock gauntlet shattered on impact.

Cinder's aura took quite the hit as she skidded back. When she stopped, Jaune slammed his fist onto the ground and four rock spikes extended from the ground, ready to impale her from four sides. Cinder reflexively shot fire from her entire body, destroying the spikes. She quickly created a stream of fire at Jaune. He stomped his foot for a stone wall to appear in front of him. It stopped the fire and as soon as the stream stopped, he punched it with his left fist, shattering it into a shrapnel to fly at Cinder. She imitated Jaune and created her own firewall to defend herself. Jaune used this opportunity to throw his right hand out to the wall on his right as he stomped down with his right foot. He quickly clenched his right hand into a fist, as if he was grabbing something, and swung his fist at Cinder.

Cinder snuffed out her firewall and was about to attack until she heard a cracking sound. She turned to her left and saw ten by five-foot chunk of the wall break free and fly at her. She quickly sent a larger fireball at it to break it and defend herself, raining debris around her. Jaune stomped down with his left foot and reached his left hand over his head. He formed a fist again and swung downwards, another chunk of rock broke from the ceiling and flew down to crush Cinder. She saw this and jumped forward, barely dodging it. Jaune stepped forward and threw both his arms forward before clenching both his fist and pulling them back. He took a second step and punched the air with both fists. The rock chunk behind her shattered and sent her forward right before an earth wave surged towards her. She quickly used a stream of fire to send her flying away from the wave of stone. She rolled out of her impromptu dive and sent a volley of fireballs at Jaune.

He stomped on the ground and he was thrown into the air by a pillar of stone erupting below him as the fireballs impacted the ground where he just was. He flew up to the ceiling where he punched his fist into it. He hung from it for a second before a good chunk of the ceiling glowed with his aura. He tore his hand free and punched at Cinder with the same fist, before the glowing ceiling started to rain down rock bullets enhanced with his aura. Cinder shot forward to avoid the deadly volley but she played right into Jaune's trap, as she flew right into the path of Jaune's aura enhanced, stone boot heel drop. Cinder activated the dust in her clothing to create her two swords and crossed them above her head. The two powerhouses met and the ground around them cracked in a ten-foot radius. Jaune flipped away and landed on his feet as the two stared each other down. This entire time, Ozpin and Pyrrha were just watching in awe. Ozpin was watching what appeared to be two Maidens battling and Pyrrha was watching Jaune fight at a hundred percent, holding absolutely nothing back against this opponent.

Cinder's breathing was labored as she stared at Jaune, who was almost as winded. She tightened the grip on her weapons, "How?" Jaune just raised an eyebrow at her question. "How are you doing this? I'm a Maiden and you're somehow fighting on par with me."

Jaune answered coldly, "Because I'm better." She growled but he elaborated. "You just obtained these powers, as far as I can tell, you don't have full control yet. On the other hand, I've trained for years with mine and have considerable control. I know my limits and have fully mastered my abilities. You may be more powerful than me, but I outclass you when it comes to skill. Plus, you're fighting underground against an opponent that can manipulate earth. Another advantage I hold." He dropped back into his fighting stance. "And with that, I'm gonna kill you."

Cinder growled but he made some serious points. She may have been stronger but this terrain worked in his favor. But, there was one card she could pull. "You have a point, dear Jaune. But you forgot that we're not the only ones here." She smirked evilly.

Jaune raised an eyebrow before his eyes went wide. With that distraction, Cinder created three more arrows out of explosive dust, but in a higher concentration, as she formed her swords into her bow. She fired the arrows at the ceiling above Ozpin and Pyrrha. The entire vault shook with the explosion and giant cracks spread out from the spot that was shot. Jaune looked back at Cinder as she still smirked, "Will you kill me or save those two? The choice is yours." She fired another volley of fireballs at the ceiling before turning and racing towards the elevator.

Jaune growled in anger before he ran over to Pyrrha and Ozpin. A giant rock from the ceiling fell but he jumped into the air and shattered it with his fist before it could land on them. He landed besides Pyrrha. "Get close!" he yelled and the two got as close to Jaune as they could. Jaune quickly create an earth dome around them and the whole thing started to glow brown as Jaune infused as much aura as he could into the dome. Ozpin added to it by slamming his cane onto the ground and forming a spherical forcefield around them but just below the dome. At that moment, the vault collapsed around them.

* * *

Back at the air docks, the last of the citizens and students were being shepherded onto the airships. Weiss was still watching with Blake as Alexandra kept healing Yang's arm with the help of Nora and Ren. Zwei suddenly barked and the WB of RWBY turn to see Ruby running towards them, "Ruby!" they shouted in unison.

"Oh, I found you!" she shouted as she jumped into her teammates, hugging them. They returned the gesture with as much energy.

Weiss was the first to pull away and glared at her leader and partner, "Where have you been?!"

"Don't worry, I'm fine!" Ruby answered her. "What's going on?"

Weiss and Blake shared a look before they turned to Yang. Ruby followed their gaze and is shocked to see her big sister unconscious with Alexandra forming a barrier around her arm. Ren and Nora were still giving aura to Alexandra, as well. "Yang?' she asked in concern.

"Hey." They turned to see Rouge walking over. "She's gonna be fine. Mom is patching her up and there's an airship ready to take you all to Vale." She said this with her usual smile.

With that said, Alexandra dissipated her barrier. She sighed and opened her eyes to look at the others. "She should be fine. I've healed her wound and the foreign aura is gone now. She should be fine but her arm is going to be very sore for a while. She should probably get looked over as well, just to be sure there are no complications. My healing ability is good but not a miracle worker."

She was then hugged by the reaper, "Thank you, Alexandra." She said with a sniffle.

She just smiled and gently rubbed the young girl's back. "No need for that, Ruby. As long as you're dating Jaune, you're my family and we Arcs look out for our own."

Ruby nodded and turned back to her teammates. "How'd she get hurt anyways?"

Weiss looked over to Blake, "She tried to save me from the leader of the White Fang branch." The Faunus replied weakly.

They then started to hear Oobleck and Port calling everyone to evacuate. "We really should get you guys out of here." Rouge added on.

"But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing." Nora said tiredly. She was almost out of aura after healing Yang.

"What!?" Ruby shouted.

Rouge sighed, "Look, guys, that giant Grimm is circling the school. Even the White Fang is pulling out, you all have to go, now. And don't worry, we'll find our brother and Pyrrha."

"We're not leaving." Ren said defiantly as he tried to stand but fell to his knee. "I refuse to leave those two here."

They all looked around until Ruby spoke up, "I'll find them…I'll find them and bring them back." She said with full conviction.

"No. We'll find them." They all turned to see Noah walking over to them.

"What happened to the Faunus?" Alexandra asked.

He looked away with a scowl, "Bastard got away because of some Bullheads." He then turned to the entire group. "You all get to the safe zone. Ruby and I will find the other two and meet you there." The students all nodded, they were not about to argue with the man after that lightshow he made. The Arcs weren't about to argue with Noah either, Alexandra was exhausted and the three Arc sisters were still needed in case of an emergency. Noah helped his wife up and gave her a brief kiss before he and Ruby ran towards Beacons' tower.

* * *

The courtyard in front of Beacon's tower was deserted and littered with the remains of Knights and Paladins. That was until the ground exploded from below and after the dust settled, a glowing brown rock sphere was there. The energy around the dome disappeared before it crumbled away, revealing the three people inside. Jaune fell to his knees and breathing raggedly. "Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha asked in a panic as she knelt beside him.

Jaune nodded weakly, "Yeah, just used too much aura."

"You two should get out of here." The two turned to Ozpin. "This is something that I must deal with."

Pyrrha was going to argue before Jaune forced himself to stand with a grunt of effort. "Sorry, Ozpin, but this is my fight." He said with a tone that left little to argue.

"As much as I understand your drive, Jaune, but you are out of aura. You will be able to do very little." Ozpin pointed out.

Jaune opened his case of aura shots and injected a second one into his neck. He shook his head as his aura climbed up to about half. He dropped the syringe and stared at Ozpin. "That's taken care of."

Pyrrha grabbed him by his shoulders, "Jaune, that is your second one today! You have no idea what that'll do to you!" she shouted at him.

Jaune looked at her calmly and smiled at her, "We'll deal with that later." His eyes turned serious with that. "You and Ozpin need to go. Get down to Vale. I'll deal with Cinder."

"Jaune, you can't do this alone! I won't let you!" she said frantically as tears began to fall from her eyes.

Jaune just pulled her close and spoke softly, "I can't lose you too. I need to do this because I'm the only one with any kinda chance to win. And I can't risk you or anyone else in this." She looked up to him as he pulled back slightly. He kissed her lovingly as he sent aura to his thumb and middle finger of his right hand. They pulled apart and he looked into her eyes. "Pyrrha, I love you. Never forget that." He then squeezed the sides of her neck with his thumb and middle finger.

Pyrrha's eyes widened before they began to close, "Jaune…" she said weakly as she lost consciousness.

Jaune held her close so she wouldn't fall and pulled her into a bridal carry. He looked at her sleeping face with a sad smile. "Sorry I had to use that pressure point technique on you. You can yell at me later. Maybe..." he walked over to Ozpin and gently laid her in his Headmaster's arms. "Get her out of here." He turned back to the tower.

"Jaune." Ozpin spoke up and Jaune turned to him, "I never wanted this. For either of you. I wish there was another way." He said in the same broken tone as before.

Jaune sighed. He could hear the regret and sincerity in his voice. "I believe you, Professor. But, this is how it is now." He looked up at the tower, "I may not come back from this, so do me this one favor." He looked back at Ozpin. "Keep them out of this war. Unless they choose to be part of it."

Ozpin looked him in the eyes and nodded, "That's the least I can do for you. After all the pain I put you through."

Jaune shook his head with a small smile, "You also gave me the chance to love again. And that's why I'm doing this." He tapped into his wind Semblance and as his eyes turned light green, he started to float in the air because of the cyclone around his legs. "Thank you for letting me live my dream, even if it was just for a little bit." That was the last thing he said to Ozpin before he flew to the top of the tower.

The Grimm Dragon circled the tower before it clung to the tower and looked in to see Cinder. It screeched at her but she responded in a gentle tone, "Shhh…This is your home now." It responded with a quieter screech and Cinder backed away from the window. She then held out her hand and created a fireball. Whatever she was planning to do next was stopped when a window behind her shattered and she heard the sound of boots walking on the ground. She turned to see Jaune walking into the office with the wind swirling around him. She extinguished the fireball and turned to him. "So, Ozpin sent you to die." She said with a smirk.

"No. I came on my own. To kill you, Cinder." He said with full conviction.


	80. The Climatic Battle

Jaune and Cinder were standing across one another, neither moving while the Grimm Dragon just stared in on them. Cinder had that same cruel smirk on her face, "You're going to kill me? Mercury did mention that you were after me. Apparently, the Maiden was someone special to you, right?"

The wind picked up around Jaune as he glared at her. "That's the start of it. But after what you did to Yang and Pyrrha, well that just sealed it." Cinder just smirked at him more. "Honestly, that was smart. With Mercury's mechanical legs, he could take that shot from Yang and be fine. You frame Yang, create negativity for the Grimm and spare your lackey. You just needed to push Yang, right?"

"True. Mercury played his part brilliantly. He has been most useful to me."

"But he's not the only one. Emerald had her part in this too. Otherwise, she would've blown the whistle on Mercury when she went to help him. She probably had something to do with Yang's incident and Pyrrha's, as well." Jaune ventured.

"What makes you say that?" Cinder asked with faux confusion.

"Yang saw Mercury attack her when he clearly didn't. So, he either has a Semblance that can cause illusions or it was Emerald. And considering I was fighting him when Pyrrha had a similar incident with Penny, I would guess it was her. All you needed was for her to be in the stands and just wait for the right moment to have the two best fighters of Beacon turn into dangerous women on live television. Negativity increases and the Kingdoms become suspicious of each other. Plus, your speech makes the civilians more suspicious of Huntsmen and Huntresses in general." Jaune clapped slowly. "Bravo."

"So, you figured all that out? Impressive." Cinder answered.

Jaune shrugged, "Not really. Kinda cliché to say the least." Jaune said indifferently.

Cinder narrowed her eyes. "Maybe so, but it worked perfectly. And the ones to take the blame will be Atlas because of the virus uploaded to the CCT and the White Fang for attacking civilians. We get away scot-free and Vale falls." Cinder finished with an evil chuckle.

Jaune just stared at her before he had a small smile. "Well, that was easy." Cinder looked confused until she saw Jaune reach behind him and pull out his scroll which was recording. Her eyes widened. "Now I just have to show this to Ironwood and Ozpin, and Pyrrha and Yang are off the hook. Plus, Mercury and Emerald will be sought after by everyone for their part in this plan. They'll also look out for your virus and eradicate it." He stopped the recording before attaching his scroll to his belt again. "But don't you worry, you won't be dealing with any of that."

He grabbed the three cylindrical containers on his belt and tossed them a couple of feet in front of him. They opened when they hit the ground, pouring out metal sand. Cinder was confused but Jaune was too busy absorbing his earth dust. He started to weave the storming winds into the crushing earth and as he did, Cinder saw his eyes change from light green and brown to a steel grey color and the same color energy erupted from his body. She was unaffected by the energy and Jaune just stared at her with his eyes full of anger, sorrow and bloodlust, but soon that all faded replaced with a mask of nothingness.

He flung his arm forward and the metal sand surged towards Cinder as a stream. She dodged it out of shock as Jaune charged forward, drawing Fukiri with his right and Dokiri with his left. He jumped into the air and came down with his newly formed longsword, the edges and circuits glowing the same steely grey, with a two-handed swing. Cinder created her swords and crossed them to stop the attack. In a cold voice he uttered, "Polarize, Jikiri!" He then kicked her in the side while their blades were locked. As she was flying, he flung his left arm and the metal sand shot after her again.

Cinder landed on her feet and quickly sent a stream of flame at the metal. The front of it melted together but with a flick of Jaune's fingers, that newly bonded metal shot forward like a projectile, leaving the rest of the sand intact. She tried to defend herself but the sword she used shattered under the impact. Jaune charged forward with his blade. She quickly coated her remaining blade in fire and held even with Jaune. The stream of metal sand shot towards Jaune's back before splitting into two streams and trying to hit her from both sides. Cinder released a burst of fire from her body sending the sand and Jaune away. He hit the wall but forced himself to stay on his feet. His armor was hot but any unarmored part of his body now had the iron sand protecting it.

Ever since his death, his aura had changed. If he wouldn't defend himself, it would. It would manipulate the element for him to save his life. That's what happened during the tournament and that was an edge Jaune needed now. He could focus on attacking while his aura would protect him from the worst hits, at the cost of some extra aura. The metal sand that protected his body was melted together so he used his magnetism to reshape it into a drill like projectile and shot it forward with his aura. Cinder dodged it but Jaune shifted his left hand and it reangled itself. He threw Jikiri along with it. The spinning blade and drill were being controlled by Jaune's hands and keeping Cinder off balance. She would knock one away, just for the other to come at her. Soon Jaune's entire body was enveloped in his steely aura and the iron sand rose into the air. He condensed it into bullets and fired the entire volley at Cinder.

Cinder dove out of the way but she still got hit, reducing her aura further. The bullets continued and hit the Grimm Dragon, it shrieked before it flew off. Jaune ran towards the downed Cinder, he reformed the drill into a saw blade and sent it at her as he recalled his sword to his hand. She batted it away with her sword but Jaune was already on top of her. He kicked her sword away before stomping his foot onto her stomach. She had the air knocked out of her but still saw Jaune grip his sword with both hands and hold it above his head. He plunged it down, intent on stabbing Cinder through the chest. She grabbed the blade with both hands and tried with all her strength to hold it back. But with their positioning, Jaune had all the advantages and she couldn't concentrate enough to try to melt the metal of his blade. Jaune put more of his weight behind his blade and the tip started to graze the skin right above her breasts. 'Just a bit more.' He thought darkly. He was roused when he heard the Grimm screech and he turned from Cinder to see it about to ram the tower.

Jaune jumped off Cinder and away from the window. He used his magnetism to move his sheathes from his back to in front of him. He held it like a shield and tucked as much of himself behind it as the Grimm struck the tower. Sending him flying from the tower as the debris ran down from it.

* * *

Ruby and Noah stopped fighting the Grimm that the Dragon spawned to see it ram the tower. They were both confused but even more so when they saw Ozpin running with someone in his arms. "Pyrrha!" she shouted.

Ozpin stopped by them, "Miss Rose and Mr. Arc, good to see you two are okay."

"What happened to Pyrrha?" Ruby asked in concern.

"She's fine. Jaune knocked her out so she wouldn't get involved." He said brokenly.

"Involved in what?" Noah asked with an edge. Ozpin just turned from Noah to the tower the Grimm just attacked. Ruby gasped as Noah grabbed Ozpin by his shirt. "Explain, now."

Ozpin just looked into Noah's eyes. "Your son is the only one that can stop this, Noah. Anyone else would just get killed. He realized that and decided to prevent further death. He went as far as to knock out someone he loves to save them. Would you not do the same?"

Noah stared down Ozpin before he let go of him. "Damn it."

Ruby was still staring at the tower. She knew Jaune could handle himself, better than anyone. And if Ozpin was right, he was the only one that could do this. She looked down slightly before she looked up with a determined look. "I won't leave him. I won't." She took off running in that direction before either Huntsmen could stop her.

"Ruby!" Noah yelled after her. He looked at Ozpin then at Pyrrha in his arms, "Get her to safety." Was all he said as he took off after the young Huntress. Ozpin looked on sadly before he took off towards the air docks. He was going to at least safe Pyrrha, that was the _absolute_ least he could do.

* * *

As the debris and dust of the tower settled. Jaune slowly rose to his feet and shook his head. His sheathes protected him from the impact but he had to use a good chunk of aura to cushion his fall. He moved his sheathes to his back and looked up. The Grimm was perched on top of the tower again and he could see Cinder flying towards him with a trail of fire behind her. He had a few seconds to catch his breath and quickly used his Semblance to feel around him. He found what he needed and smiled before it slipped from his face. He opened his eyes in time to see a fireball coming towards him. It hit the ground in front of him and sent him flying backwards. He hit the ground and laid there as Cinder landed on the ground. He could hear her heels coming towards him. He slowly rose into a kneeling position as he saw Cinder holding her bow. "It's unfortunate you were given a responsibility that was never possible to fulfill. You could've joined me, my dear Jaune. With your abilities and mine, no one could stop us. You still could. You just have to say it." She offered him.

Jaune stared her down before he gave her a grin that said, 'Fuck you' and saying one thing, "Do you believe in destiny?"

Cinder frowned at him as her eyes narrowed, "Yes." She said simply as she formed an arrow and aimed for Jaune's chest.

"Well, I don't!" he shouted as he slammed his palm onto the ground besides him. With that, all the metal sand that missed or bounced off the Grimm Dragon erupted from the ground and bound Cinder, wrapping around her body tightly.

"What?!" she shouted in shock as Jaune stood up. He pulled the lightning dust crystal out of his pocket lefthanded before it started to shine brightly with his aura. When it was at maximum capacity, he threw it at her. The crystal impacted the metal sand and activated, releasing all the electricity in it. The sand acted like a conductor as Cinder shouted in pain. Jaune drew Suikiri with his left hand and quickly used all its dust to shoot as much water at her as he could, amplifying the electricity further. Cinder kept shouting until she released a massive explosion of fire from her body. It evaporated the water, melted the metal into slag at her feet and snuffed out the electricity. She fell to her knee as she stared at Jaune with nothing but malice. Her hair was burnt off, so now it only went down to her neck. The only reason she was still alive was because of her Maiden powers amplifying her aura.

Jaune stared at Cinder before dropping into his sword stance. He wasn't going to take any chances, an injured enemy can be way more dangerous and with her powers, that would not end well. Plus, his metal sand was rendered useless so he wouldn't be able to rely on it anymore. He was brought from his thoughts as the Dragon screeched again. They both looked over to see it dropping more black ooze and forming a small battalion of Beowolves, Ursa, Creeps and Boarbatusks. The Grimm Dragon screeched again and the Grimm charged towards Jaune. Cinder smirked and quickly flew a safe distance away from the Grimm. Jaune growled before he met the Grimm head on.

He slashed through the Grimm, letting his instincts take over. He fought them for a few minutes before he was forced to draw another sword. He drew Kakiri because it was the only one with dust in it still and he had no time to reload the others. He massacred the Grimm with his longsword in his right hand and broadsword in his left. Cinder watched from where she sat, the top of a particularly large piece of debris. She smirked, "What will you do now, dear Jaune? What will you show me next?"

He realized he had to finish this up quickly to deal with Cinder. He jumped away from his latest kill and unlocked Jikiri, splitting it back into the two swords. He used his magnetism to send the swords spinning around him to keep the Grimm away as he absorbed the fire dust from Kakiri. His left eye turned to crimson and he felt the pain of three elements warring once again. He pushed through it to impaled Kakiri into the ground, creating a ring of fire around him before expanding it to take out any Grimm still too close. He stood tall as he shifted Kakiri to his right hand while recalling Fukiri and Dokiri. The two short swords connected to the broadsword to form their bastard sword variant. The edges and circuits lacked the usual glow but Jaune was working on that: he quickly undid his Magnet element before weaving the two energies together with the burning fire to create his Exceed Element. The Grimm started to charge him as his eyes shifted to that pale green and his sword began to glow with the same color. The energy was released from his body, disintegrating the Grimm around him. As the light faded Jaune turned to the new horde of Grimm the Dragon just created. He ran as fast as he could before he was close enough to the Grimm, he slammed his fist to the ground and the tetrahedron formed in seconds, imprisoning these latest Grimm. He squeezed his hand and vaporized them creatures of darkness without batting an eye.

* * *

Cinder stood up from her spot and stared in awe at the display of power. She then realized, if she couldn't have him then he was too dangerous to live. She quickly formed her swords before flying back into the fray.

Meanwhile, the Grimm Dragon just witnessed this human exterminating its spawn without any effort. Its eyes burned with fury before it screeched louder than ever and flew towards the human. It would deal with it itself.

* * *

Jaune quickly spun around and brought up his bastard sword to stop Cinder from bisecting him. He pushed her away before swinging horizontally. She jumped back and fired a series of fireballs at him. He batted a few away before charging forward again. Their blades met repeatedly, Jaune was able to overpower her with his swings but now her speed was greater than his. This battle could've gone either way. Jaune quickly formed a cube in his left hand and threw it at her while Cinder responded by shooting a large fireball. The two attacks met and created an explosion that sent the two flying back. The explosion even pushed the Grimm Dragon away with the air pressure it created. The two fighters slowly got back to their feet and stared each other down. He started to breathe raggedly, 'Can't keep this up for long, my body feels like it's coming apart already. Have to finish this, now! Let's hope this works, Dad.'

Jaune held his sword in both his hands before pulling it over his right shoulder, mimicking his father's stance perfectly. Jaune focused and a cone formed around the entire blade of his sword. He quickly condensed it as much as he could around the blade, making the entire blade glow with his pale green energy. Cinder quickly rose into the air and created a sphere of energy around her before firing a massive stream of fire at Jaune, hoping to stop him from finishing his attack. She was too late, Jaune swung his sword down, "Disintegrate, Jinkiri!" he shouted. A smaller, pale green version of Noah's technique was released. It surged forward, destroying any debris or ground in its way. It met Cinder's attack but the flames gave way as it tore its way through, but weakening it overall. It was coming directly at Cinder and she had no way to dodge. That was, until the Grimm Dragon pushed her out of the way. Whether it was trying to save her or just getting her out of its way was anyone's guess, but Jaune would go with the latter. The attack continued and caught the Grimm's right shoulder, severing its entire right wing. It fell to the ground behind Jaune with an ear-piercing screech and writhed in pain. The attack continued before it ran out of energy, leaving a trail of nothing in its path.

Jaune impaled his bastard sword into the ground, which was out of all three dusts now, and leant on it to support his weight. He was breathing raggedly and was covered in sweat. "Damn it." He said weakly. He tried to push off it but he soon screamed in pain. He looked down to see an arrow sticking out of his left knee. He gritted his teeth and looked to see Cinder with her bow, once again. She was as exhausted as he was.

"Your choice, Jaune." She said to him. "Either join me or you will die. Either by my hand or the Grimm!"

He looked behind to see the Dragon was up again and supporting its weight with its remaining wing. More black ooze was leaking from it, forming more Grimm as it screeched at him. He turned back to see Cinder with an arrow nocked but not drawn. He was between a rock and a hard place. He closed his eyes and sighed. "No other choice." He dispelled his Semblance and separated his two short swords from the bastard sword before returning them to their sheathes. He then pulled Kakiri free and sheathed it as well. He was barely standing as he unclipped his swords from his back and they fell to the ground. Cinder looked on in intrigue. Jaune reached for his case of aura shots. He took the case from his belt before opening it and removing the last one. He dropped the case before injecting himself with it. He shook his head before dropping the needle as well when his aura was restored to half. He closed his eyes and his aura absorbed all five dusts from all his clips.

Cinder noticed his aura had returned and quickly fired her arrow at Jaune. The arrow flew towards Jaune and a foot away from him, his now dark purple aura manifested before it created a black softball sized orb in the path of the arrow. The arrow struck the orb and it was reduced to nothing. Cinder was shocked beyond belief. She stepped back when Jaune opened his eyes and stared her down with his now purple, borderline black, eyes. "At my current aura level, four is my limit. Better make them count." He said to himself. He pointed his right index and middle finger at Cinder and the Void orb that just defended him, fired off like a bullet.

Cinder started to dodge but it was moving too quick for her. The side of the orb caught her left eye and tore through it. She survived but she was now laying on the ground as she screamed in pain. Her left hand was gripping her now empty left eye socket and the open wound on the side of her head. Jaune was about to send it back to finish its job but he heard the Dragon screech and turned to see the new horde charging him. He pointed his fingers at the horde and the Void orb stopped right before it was out of his mental range and fired at them. It struck the center of the horde before expanding, destroying all the Grimm. It expanded until it was a foot away from the Grimm Dragon before it imploded and was gone. "You're in the way!" Jaune shouted as he threw his right palm out and another Void orb was formed and fired off. It struck the Grimm in the chest but stopped moving as soon as it made contact. Jaune then threw his hand into the air and the orb followed. It shot itself and the Grimm Dragon into the air as it screeched in agony.

* * *

Everyone at the air docks and even the people in the safe zone turned to the skies when they heard that screech. They all saw the Grimm Dragon in the air but what was strange was that it wasn't flying. It looked as if it was being pushed into the air by some unknown force. As it reached a tremendous height in the air, everyone saw a black orb quickly expanding, engulfing the massive Grimm. The Dragon screeched in agony before it was completely consumed. The massive black orb lingered in the air for a second before it condensed and was gone entirely. Everyone was baffled by what they saw. Even Goodwitch, Ironwood and Qrow were stunned by what they just witnessed. All the students at the air docks, teachers and even the Arcs were stunned silent. Until Rouge spoke up, "What the hell was that?!"

No one had an answer besides Nora, Weiss, Blake and a recently conscious Yang, "Jaune." They said in unison, their voices holding worry and concern but also hope.

That was until Ren fell to the ground and punched it. "Damn it, Jaune. You better make it back from this." He muttered to himself.

* * *

Jaune turned from the sky back to Cinder. She was now standing but her left hand still gripping her head. "What are you?" she asked in fear.

Jaune's answer was to form a third Void orb in his hand. He squeezed it and it quickly shifted into a solid black short sword with no details to it. He then shot forward. Cinder couldn't dodge before Jaune was already past her. She turned to look at his back before she realized she couldn't feel her left arm. She looked at it and noticed that from half her upper arm down was missing. She looked down to the ground and saw her severed arm. Instantly, she registered the pain and screamed as she grabbed the stump of her arm with her right one. Jaune turned back to her and gave her a verbal reply this time. "You're executioner."

Cinder took several steps back in fear before she turned and ran. She got a few feet before she took off with her flames. Jaune opened his right hand and his Void sword morphed back into an orb. He pointed his palm at Cinder, ready to fire. His vision blurred and he fired. The orb flew like a bullet and narrowly missed her. Jaune quickly had it expand. She was able to avoid it but that caused her to crash into the Emerald Forest. Jaune was about to follow but as he moved he doubled over and coughed up a large amount of blood, possibly a pint. He wiped the blood from his mouth as his breathing was labored. "Damn it. I thought I'd have more time."

He stood tall and was about to go after Cinder, when a voice caused him to stop. "Jaune!" He quickly turned and was crashed into by a red blur. He looked to see that Ruby was holding him and crying. "I was so worried. Ozpin said you were fighting and I saw the Grimm and then that orb and I was just so scared."

Jaune gently returned her hug and saw that his dad was standing there as well. He could tell his father was relieved to see that he was okay. But Noah could tell something was wrong just from looking at him. Jaune turned away and Noah felt his heart dropped, 'He can't be…' he thought.

Jaune gently pulled Ruby away from him. She looked up at him with teary eyes. Jaune gave her a sad smile and gently wiped them away. "I'm okay, Rosebud. But I need you and my dad to get out of here. I need to finish this."

She was confused and held onto his shirt like it was a lifeline. "But, why? You killed the Grimm, you saved the day. We can all go home now."

Jaune just slowly shook his head, "Cinder was behind this, Ruby. If she lives, this could happen again or worse. I need to stop her." He gently patted her head, "You two get out of here. Take my swords as well, while I deal with this."

Ruby just looked up at him. "You'll come back, right? You promised us you'd always be there and an Arc doesn't go back on his word, right?" she asked him desperately.

Jaune still had that sad smile as he lowered his head down to her's. "Never forget. I love you, Ruby." He then gave her the most loving kiss he could. Ruby returned it as fresh tears ran down her face. He pulled way from the kiss and stepped away from her as he walked backwards. She just stared at him as she reached out for him, begging him not to go. He turned away as tears fell from his eyes. His body became surrounded in his dark purple aura as he shot off into the air. "I'm sorry." He said to himself as he flew away.

Jaune landed around where he saw Cinder fall. He looked around as he formed another Void short sword. He heard a snapping sound and turned to see her standing not too far away from him. She had one of her swords in her remaining hand. "So, you're set on this." She took on an awkward stance with those words.

Jaune just looked her over before he charged forward. He was in front of her when time seemed to slow down. He was bringing his sword down, ready to cleave through her left shoulder and into her chest to finish her off. That was until he saw his sword waver. He looked at it and saw that its shape wasn't holding up and it soon vanished from his hands. His eyes widened, 'I'm out.' Was all he thought.

Time resumed when he felt an intense burning pain in his stomach. He looked down to see Cinder's blade going through the left side of his stomach. He looked up at her to see her grinning at him, "This is the end, dear Jaune." Was all she said as she was removing her sword slowly.

The pain was just increasing for Jaune but he wasn't going to let it end like this. He quickly grabbed her arm with his left hand. He held her with all his strength as he reached behind himself with his right hand. He drew Kuroibarra before plunging the dagger into Cinder's chest. Her eye went wide as she stared into his. "You were right, this is the end."

Cinder's eye glazed over and her grip fell from her sword. She started to fall backwards as the Maiden's power erupted from her body, shattering Kuroibarra and blasting Jaune away. He landed on his back and saw it fly into the sky before searching for its next host. He had a weak smile before he heard a breaking sound. He looked down to see Cinder's sword crumble away. He could still feel pieces of the blade in his wound but he couldn't do much about that. Jaune slowly and painfully rose to his feet before he started walking through the forest back to Beacon. The entire time, he was applying pressure with his left hand to try and stem the bleeding. He was slowly making his way back but he was starting to get lightheaded and was feeling weak. He was forced to lean against trees with his right hand to keep himself upright. He saw Beacon in the distance and smiled to himself. That was before his vision blurred and he fell forward. He couldn't stop himself but he was at least able to not land on his left side. The then slowly rolled onto his back.

He laid there for a short time, breathing heavily. He tried to sit up but he couldn't find the strength to. He looked at Beacon then to the night sky before speaking, "Guess this is it." He looked down and saw his scroll lying next to him. He slowly reached out with his right hand and started the record function with a small smile.

"Hey. If you're hearing this, it means we did it. We won. We kicked the shit out of the Cinder's forces. I knew we could." His smile fell. "But this is my last stop." He took a deep breath. "See, when I came to Beacon, I really was just a broken shell of the guy I was before. But with your help, that shell, it…it was able to heal." He smiled again. "I was able to be the person I was before, to live again. And, after a while, I was even able to start to love again. That love along with your's, makes me who I am." His smile fell again. "But, that also stopped me from doing what I needed to. I couldn't beat Cinder as I was, but if I broke my word to you all, if I sacrificed myself, I would be able to find the strength to stop her. I believed that." He turned away from his scroll in shame but kept talking. "I wish there was another way. But I'm leaving this message, along with the others, because I hope that you'll understand why I have to go this time."

He chuckled weakly, "It was actually, Gin that made me realize something I never thought of before." He looked back up at the night sky. "There are so many stories where some brave hero decides to give up his life to save the day. And because of their sacrifice, the good guys win, the survivors all cheer, and everyone lives happily ever after. But the hero…never gets to see that ending. They'll never know if their sacrifice ever made a difference." His vision began to blur again. "They'll never know if the day was ever saved." His vision was slowly beginning to go black. "In the end, they just have to have faith. And that is exactly what I have in you all." He smiled as a tear ran down his face. His scroll stopped the recording before turning off. He heard a sound and he slowly turned to see what looked like a Nevermore coming from the trees. He weakly smirked as his vision went completely dark. "Ain't that a bitch."

* * *

 **A/N- Here it is, as promised. Hope you all enjoyed it. Had this chapter planned for so long, practically the beginning. And before people go crazy, yes, that was Church's speech from RVB. Honestly, it is by far the best speech I've heard so I used it, lol. The next chapter will be, different to say the least. All I really have to say on this one. See you all in the next update!  
**


	81. Epilogue

It had been about a week since the Fall of Beacon. With the destruction of the Grimm Dragon, the Grimm stopped swarming the school. The people of Vale witnessed the sheer power that it took to destroy it and that gave the citizens of Vale hope. That hope helped dissuade more Grimm from trying to enter the Kingdom. But with that hope, also came trepidation. Whoever had control over that sort of power could easily be a beacon of hope or a destroyer to anything in their way.

Huntsmen and Huntresses were recruited from all over to help exterminate the Grimm still in the Kingdom, as well as guard the borders for anymore. Atlas had pulled out all its non-human soldiers and sent more reinforcements. The people were hesitant to trust Atlas after the Fall but they had little choice in the matter. It was either except their help or have the Kingdom fall further. It would be some time before they got any help from Mistral or even Vacuo, so they would have to make do.

Overall, the damage to the Kingdom and Beacon was bad but could've been worse. It would take a few months for the Kingdom to be back to where it was before and longer for Beacon since the Kingdom was the priority. All Beacon students had the option to transfer to any of the three other academies to continue their training while Beacon was being rebuilt. Those that did not wish to, could also help with the reconstruction of Vale it was entirely up to the person.

Which brings us to Patch. Team RWBY and the accounted members of JNPR were staying at Ruby and Yang's house. Most of them didn't have anywhere else to go or wouldn't until they knew what happened to Jaune. Taiyang was fine with that, he wanted to meet his daughter's teammates and friends for the longest time. Plus, they had more than enough room for them all. Although, he did find out about Jaune dating the other girls and wasn't exactly thrilled about that. He was going to have a long conversation with the Arc once he was back. After the battle with Cinder, no one could find him. With the CCT not operating as normal, they couldn't track his scroll and the Emerald Forest was a big place. Regardless, Qrow took it upon himself to find him. For the past week, he had been searching nonstop. The Arcs were also staying close by. They were helping with the repair of Vale and taking care of Grimm. But mostly, they were there to find their son and brother.

The seven students were doing whatever they could to keep their minds off Jaune. They all feared for him. They all saw him use Void, the girls were told about it by Ren shortly after arriving in Patch. They were worried and kept thinking about the last time he used it. They couldn't deal with that, so most of them did what they usually do when they needed to be distracted, train. Except for Yang. Yang had her reattached arm in a sling. Even though her arm was fully attached, she would still need time before her arm was fully healed. Which severely pissed her off. Now she was stuck watching her friends train while she had to sit around.

That all came to a head one day. They were all sitting in the living room of the Xiao Long/Rose household. Yang and Nora had gotten into a heated debate on whether shotguns or grenade launchers were more effective in combat. Ruby got pulled into the middle of it for being their weapon expert, and she was not happy about that. Blake and Ren were trying to calm down their partners while Weiss and Pyrrha were adding their own comments into the fray. Whether they were meant to keep the two heated or not was anyone's guess. But even with all of that, their eyes kept drifting over to the coffee table in the middle of the room. There, laying on top of it, were Jaune's and Gin's swords. When they arrived at Patch, they placed them there and there they were going to stay until Jaune was back.

They were interrupted when they heard a knock on the door. Tai came out of the kitchen, "I'll get it." He said casually. He opened the door and was surprised by who he saw, "Qrow, Oz, Glynda?"

"Hey, Tai. Can we come in?' Qrow asked. Tai stepped to the side and the three walked into the room. That was until Ruby tackled Qrow with a hug. He just ruffled her hair and she let go. He then looked around the room, "You all look like you're doing okay."

They gave a lack luster response. "Not to be rude, but why exactly are you three here?" Blake asked.

"A few reasons." Goodwitch answered, "First is that your father, Ms. Schnee, is still trying to contact you."

Weiss just turned away. Her father had called her and told her he was going to take her back to Atlas. Weiss was not about to leave, especially with Jaune missing. At that point, she ended the call and with the CCT still down, he wouldn't be able to locate her scroll anytime soon. "I have nothing to say to him and he is not taking me anywhere." She said with all the finality she could muster.

Goodwitch sighed but nodded. Ozpin spoke up next, "We also have news for you, Yang and Pyrrha." The two looked confused. "Because of some evidence that has come to light, you too have been cleared of any animosity for your actions during the Tournament." Both were shocked about that. They had pushed that to the back of their minds because of the worry for their boyfriend. "It was actually Cinder that admitted to orchestrating both incidents as well as informing us of Emerald's and Mercury's parts in the plot. So, you two will have no issue continuing your training."

Both girls looked ecstatic over that. But Ren spoke up, "How did you manage to get a hold of a confession?"

Ozpin just looked to Qrow who sighed and walked forward. He then placed a scroll on the table, over Jaune's swords. The students and Tai all looked at it. "It was on this scroll, Jaune's scroll."

They all went wide eyed, "You found him!" Pyrrha and Ruby shouted. Qrow just looked away.

"What's going on?" Yang asked with an edge.

Qrow sighed again and took a swig from his flask. "It took me a while but I searched a good portion of the Emerald Forest. Eventually, I found Cinders body." They all looked shocked. "Yeah. If I had to guess, since I found his scroll not too far from her body, it was Jaune that did it." He leant against the wall. "That and I found the pieces of the dagger you made for him, Ruby. I looked all over the area but I couldn't find him. Not even a body."

"Well, then he could still be alive!" Nora said excitedly. "Right?" she asked as she saw the grim expressions on the three's faces.

Qrow looked to Ozpin and he nodded sadly. Qrow walked over to the scroll and played a recording before stepping back. All their eyes went wide when they realized it was Jaune's voice. But that surprise turned to hope then to sorrow as they heard that the message was actually Jaune's last words. All of them were in tears and Tai was just as hurt seeing his daughters in so much pain. Ren had an arm around each of his remaining teammates as the three of them cried. While RWBY was pretty much in a giant group hug with Ruby at the center. They all had feared the worst but they didn't want to believe that it was real. But now, they could no longer deny it. Jaune Arc was gone.

When Jaune's last words were done, there was a silence that filled the room. After an appropriate amount of time, Ozpin spoke up. "We looked at Jaune's aura readings. When he was recording that, he had no aura. Jaune most likely died from whatever injuries he received from Cinder or he was attacked by a Grimm and couldn't defend himself." None of them said anything. "Jaune made sure to get Cinder to admit to enough to help us all. We now know Emerald and Mercury are dangerous and that a virus was uploaded to the CCT. Atlas should be able to find it and remove it before upgrading the firewalls and protection to prevent this from happening again."

Again, none of them spoke up. They were too busy trying to come to terms with what happened and trying to get their emotions back under control. "I'm deeply sorry." Ozpin spoke with so much genuine regret that they turned to their Headmaster. He was bowing his head. "Jaune sacrificed himself because of me and my decisions. Don't blame yourselves for this. If you're going to blame anyone, blame me."

All of them in the room were taken back by this. "Oz." Qrow said weakly.

Pyrrha stood up from her teammates and walked over to the Professor. She looked into his eyes as she was still shedding tears. "As much as I want to blame you, I can't." she said with her voice full of emotion. "We all made choices that day. Whether they were the right ones of not, we don't know. But, we all wanted to stop Cinder and save Vale. Jaune…." Her words caught in her throat with his name and she looked down. "Jaune made his choice and it saved all of us. And he did say over and over, that he would give up his life to save the people he loved." She looked back at Ozpin, "So, if anything, I should be angry with Jaune for leaving us. But I can't bring myself to do anything besides love that idiot."

She started to cry again with that and Nora walked over to hug her honorary sister as her tears started again. Ozpin looked at the two before he looked away in shame, "Thank you, Miss Nikos."

They were all quiet for a while until Ruby spoke up, "He said he had other messages. Did you listen to them too?"

Qrow shook his head, "I had a feeling they weren't for us to hear. But, they are meant for you all." He started to make his way to the kitchen. "We'll give you all some privacy." Goodwitch and Ozpin followed along with Tai, after he gave his daughters a hug.

When the adults left, they all looked over at each other. All in agreeance. Ruby got up and synced the scroll with the television before hitting play and sitting back down. After a second the screen showed Jaune, sitting at his desk at Beacon. He had a sad smile a she started to speak, "Hey. If you're all seeing this. Well, that means I'm dead. Or you're going through my scroll without my permission." He chuckled weakly. "Well, um, I'm not really sure how to start this. I guess, I'll start at the beginning." He looked up for a second before looking back to the screen. "Ever since the Breach, I've felt this pressure, this ominous feeling in the air. I didn't know if it was just my mind or if it was real. But today, the pressure increased when whatever happened to Yang happened." Yang's left hand clenched with that. "And now, I've found out some information on some…sensitive topics." Pyrrha looked away slightly.

Jaune sighed as he looked to the side for a second. "This whole thing is probably going to come to a head soon. Very soon. I have no idea what's going to happen." He turned back to the screen. "But, I'm going to do whatever I need to, to protect you all. This message is for me to say the things I haven't been able to. That way, if I do die, I will have no regrets." He had another sad smile. "I'll also make one for my family, so please, make sure they get it."

"I guess, I'll start with Ren and Nora." The two sat up straighter. "You two have been my best friends and honorary siblings for years. But you aren't that anymore. You two are my brother and sister, no way around it." He grinned and the two had small smiles of their own. "Ren, you've been the brother I never had. So many times, you helped me by just being there. I'm glad we could keep our word from when we were kids." Ren had tears rolling down his cheeks but he did nothing to stop them. He wasn't ashamed to cry for his brother. "Nora." He chuckled, "You are my Little Sister, simply put. You helped fill the void of my sisters when I was away and I was lucky enough to get another sister in my life. For that, I'm so very thankful to you." Nora was also crying by this point. She always loved hearing Jaune praise her, like a big brother would. "I probably would've never made it to Beacon without you two and that's why, I'm doing this." He had a devious smirk that confused them. "You two asked me to not get involved but I can't any longer. You two love each other and I don't mean as friends or siblings." The two froze with his words. "You're both too afraid to take a risk because you don't wanna lose the other. But, you may miss out on something amazing if you don't take that risk. So, be honest with each other."

The two childhood friends turned to each other. They were shocked by what they heard but that didn't stop them from smiling weakly and holding the other close, lovingly. Everyone else had to smile at them for finally getting together-together. "Now, aside from that, I would also like to pass on Mother's swords to you two." They stared at the screen in shock. "Those swords fit better with you two than they ever had with me. Ren, Inkiri belongs to you now. Nora, Yokiri belongs to you. Use them to fulfill your dreams and carry on the will of our teacher and mother. And my will, as well." The two nodded at the screen before they picked up the twin katanas.

"I guess I'll move onto my last teammate. Pyrrha." He spoke in a loving tone and she turned to the screen instantly. "You've been the best partner I could've wished for. You helped push me further than I ever thought was possible and you were there to support me through everything. Honestly, you are my rock and I owe you for so much." Pyrrha started to shed more tears. "Your presence always made feel safe and protected. And with my heart torn to pieces, that was exactly what I needed to heal. To love again. I feel bad for never giving you a nickname other than Pyr though." He chuckled weakly and that caused her to smile slightly. "But, even if I never said it out loud, believe this. You may be the Goddess of Victory to the world, but you will always be the Goddess of my heart. Don't let this stop you, the world needs their Goddesses." He winked through the screen with that said.

Pyrrha's eyes widened, she never gave thought to her nickname or even getting one. But, hearing Jaune call her that made her heart swell. She looked down with a smile as she cried further, with tears of joy and sorrow. "Jaune, you have my word." She said confidently.

"With that, I guess I'll move onto Team RWBY. I'll start with Yang." She looked at the screen, completely focused on it. "You have just been a source of energy for me. You had the habit of energizing me. Plus, with your spontaneous nature, you kept me guessing. And I loved every second." She smiled slightly as well. "You're teasing nature helped to ease me and even though your jokes weren't the best, they helped to lighten my mood. Your personality helped me slowly open my heart back up to the possibilities to love again. So, do me this favor and never change. Stay true to yourself, my Sun Fire."

Yang put on her trademark smirk as tears rolled down her face. "You got it, Hero."

Blake put her hand on her partners shoulder to comfort her. "Blake." She turned to the screen. "You were such a soothing presence for me to be around. You could just calm me even if the world was falling around us. We both had secrets, so it was nice to be around someone who wouldn't pry. You would just patiently wait for me to slowly open up to you. Your whole demeanor just helped me in the long run; you never made me feel afraid of my past or the future. You just helped me live in the present." Blake smiled but that became a blush very quickly. "I'm also thankful you let me know your secret and I could see the beautiful, real you. Please, don't be ashamed or afraid of what you are. Take pride in it and show the world, you won't back down, my Kitten."

Blake just stared at the screen and she didn't realize it but her hands were moving to her bow. She finally looked down to see she was holding the ribbon, freeing her ears. She looked at it as her tears fell onto it before she let it drop to the ground. "I will. For you, Jaune."

"Weiss." The Heiress focused more on the screen. "What can I say? You are perfect in my eyes. You were rough around the edges when we first met but now, you've grown into a woman I'm proud to have fallen for." She blushed profusely at that. "You suffered a lot at the hands of your family. And I knew a little bit about that, not to the same degree but still. We were lucky we found each other. We were able to share our pain with someone you understood it. That allowed us both to heal. With the bonus of falling for each other." He smirked a bit with that. "You're stronger than your father believed you were. I have no doubt in my mind, Snow Angel, you'll be an amazing Huntress and you will leave a legacy your grandfather would be so proud of."

Weiss turned away from the others as she cried silently. "Of course, I will, you dolt. My Knight."

"Last but certainly not least, Ruby." The young girl just looked at the screen, never taking her eyes away. "You are so much like me, it's kinda weird." He laughed weakly. "Someone who wanted to be a hero and would do whatever to reach your goal. And like me, you were accepted personally by Ozpin. Because your _special_. Ruby, for the longest time your innocence, caring nature and love has illuminated the abyss my heart fell into. You were my beacon in the darkest of times and I was so lucky to have you in my life. As a friend, best friend and eventually, my girlfriend." Ruby started to sniffle with his words. "Never give up on your dream, no, our dream. I know in my heart that you will become a hero we both knew you could be, Rosebud."

She looked down and gently wiped her eyes, "Thank you, Jaune. I love you."

After that, they all sat in a silence not sure what to do next. But Jaune continued after a minute or so. He sighed, "I'm still amazed that you five amazing and beautiful girls fell for me. I'm lucky to have met and loved all of you. I'll never forget or regret the time we shared together." They all smiled along with him. "So, I have no problem with doing this. Hopefully, you have them." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Override, access code 43039. Aura lock, shutdown."

They were all confused, until the sheathes to his swords shined a white color. Afterwards the sheathes split apart into the individual five sheathes and the handles all deployed. They just stared until Jaune spoke again, "That voice command has deactivated the aura lock for my swords and split them apart. Those swords are my life in a way. So, I want to pass them onto you five, that way you'll always have a piece of me." They all looked back to the screen in shock. "Use them to fight, as they are or reconstruct them. Or just hang them on a wall somewhere. It doesn't matter what you do with them. I just want you to have them."

He closed his eyes for a second before continuing, "Pyrrha, I want you to have Dokiri. The sword I used to control the earth, should go to the girl you kept me grounded. Use it to change the world as a whole." Pyrrha reached for the sword in its sheathe before moving it to her lap. She instantly remembered that this sword was the one she drew when he gave her access to his blades. That made her smile.

"Weiss, I bequeath to you Suikiri. A blade that can control water seems like the perfect weapon for a Snow Angel. Make sure to use it to wash away the stain your father left on your family name." Weiss took the blade and looked it over. She'd have to learn how to use the sword properly, she couldn't use it like her rapier. But, she was up to the challenge.

"Yang, I'm giving you Kakiri. A broadsword that controls fire is right up your alley. Just don't use it to burn down anymore clubs. Use it to illuminate the darkness around you and protect the people you care for." Yang picked it up with her left hand and felt the weight of it. She then imagined herself holding it while the blade was covered in flames and her Semblance was active. She liked the look.

"Blake, Fukiri is your sword now. Wind is limitless, just like the choices in our lives. So, I see no better hands to leave it in. Bring the winds of change and the equality we both sought." Blake hesitantly moved the blade to her lap and gently ran her hand over the sheathe. With this, maybe she could help all Faunus, like Jaune said. And with it, he'll be right beside her when she did.

"And Ruby, I'm giving you Raikiri. She was the first blade I made and with your desire to use her, I have no doubt you will treat her as well as Crescent Rose. Makes sense too. Use it to show up in a flash of lightning to save the day and smite all evil in your path." Ruby stared at the sword in disbelief before she scooped it up and held it tightly in her arms. The sword would never leave her sight.

Jaune looked into the camera for a few seconds before smiling, "I can't think of anything else to say. So, I'll leave it with the two things I can never say enough. Thank you, all of you, for being in my life." He closed his eyes as a few tears escaped them. "I love you." The recording ended there. They all sat in the silence for a while but they knew one thing for sure. The road ahead would be long and hard. But, they couldn't back away now. Jaune, their brother, their love, believed in them fully. They would not betray that trust. They would make their dreams reality. In his honor.

So, draws the conclusion of the Elemental Swordsman. Jaune Arc, a hero to Vale and a legend to future generations of Remnant. But when one legend ends, another is just around the bend. What will the next tale hold?

Only time will tell.

* * *

 **A/N- Well, there it is. The end of The Elemental Swordsman. This was the ending from the moment I thought this story up almost ten months ago. Maybe I should've changed it but every time I tried, it felt wrong. I'd like to thank all of you for reading this and enjoying it. That is why I continued this story, for all of you. I know some of you are probably mad and other's are just pissed. So, I have good and bad news.  
**

 **Good news: I have sequel in the works! Came up with it not long after starting TES.**

 **Bad news: I won't be working on that until Vol 5 of RWBY is done.**

 **As much as I wan to start writing it. I need a small break from the TES world I created. I love it to death and I need time to refresh myself or I will burn myself out. I hope you all understand. I will still be writing Distortion and I have a poll up on my page for you to choose what'll be the shorter story I'll be writing. Feel free to head over and cast a vote. That poll will end in about two weeks or so and then I'll work on the winner along with Distortion.**

 **Again thank you all for supporting my first story. Hopefully you'll stick around for the sequel. I hope you'll be ready for, The Void Swordsman.**

 **See you all in the next update!**


	82. One Legend Ends

Jaune woke with a start. He looked around in a panic, how was he still alive? His hand went down to his stomach to feel where Cinder had stabbed him. But there was no wound, and his hoodie was still in perfect shape, no hole or tear. "What happened?" he asked himself out loud. The attack on Beacon, the fight with Cinder, he didn't dream that. Did he?

He ran a hand down his face and took a deep breath to calm himself. He then looked around and found himself in an unfamiliar room. It looked like the stereotypical study: Bookshelves covered all the walls and extended to the ceiling, all filled with books. Hanging from the ceiling was an antique chandelier with a dozen lit candles on it, lighting the room. The carpet that covered the entire floor was a deep red. Jaune realized he had been sleeping on a black sofa that was extremely comfortable. In front of the couch was a low coffee table with a tray that had two mugs and a pot of fresh coffee. Across from him was a fireplace with a burning fire that gave the room a homey feeling to it. On his left was a simple oak door, it had no designs but was painted unique combination of red and black. On his right was an oak desk with papers, pens and books all over it. Looking like a mess but with some order to the chaos. Behind the desk was a tall, black chair facing away from him and out a giant window, allowing anyone to see the breathtaking view of the snow-covered forest below that lead up to a massive lake and several snow capped mountains on the horizon. Fresh snow was gently coming down, adding to the beauty. Before he could look at the view for long, a voice spoke up, "Good, you're finally awake."

The chair spun around revealing a young man, sitting in the chair with a book open and a pen in his hands. He set the book and pen down on the desk and stood up to walk around said desk. He gave Jaune a smile, like he was saying hello to an old friend but at the same time making a first impression. The man was just shy of six feet, he wore a dark grey hoodie with a black zipper. It was opened to reveal the simple back shirt underneath. He also wore simple jeans with a black belt and black sneakers. He had brown hair that came down just above his brown eyes, that were behind a pair of black framed glasses. The man seemed pretty normal, beside the tattoo on the back of his right hand. It looked like a black fire that had two wings coming off it and continued with black rings around the knuckles of his middle finger. "Feel free to have some coffee, Jaune. It wouldn't be good for me to drink it all. I don't wanna feed my addiction further." he chuckled lightly.

Jaune was on high alert now, "How do you know who I am? Where am I? And who are you?"

The man just tilted his head, "The exact questions I expected. But which to answer first?" He asked himself as he scratched his chin in thought. "To answer your first question, I know you because you could say I helped create you. You and the Remnant you know."

Jaune's eyes widened in shock. He had to be joking but the look in his eyes told Jaune that he was telling the truth. But how? "So, what, you're saying your like a god or something?"

He flinched slightly, "I wouldn't go that far, makes me sound like more than I am. No, I wouldn't call myself a god. But I guess you could think of me as one, just one step above the Brothers of Darkness and Light. But I prefer to call beings like me as Creators or Writers. Those that can take an already existing world and give it our own twist."

Jaune thought for a second, "Different worlds, like a multiverse?"

He nodded, "Exactly. The Remnant you come from is one of thousands that exist. All originating from the original creation of Monty Oum." He let Jaune have a second to take it all in. "To answer who I am, well that's a bit difficult to say. Us Writers don't like giving out our identities, never know who's watching or listening. But I've been calling myself LordHellPhoenix." He bowed his head as he said that, "But please, call me Phoenix."

Jaune just stared at Phoenix for a few seconds, "Lord?" he asked.

He just shook his head, "I preferred HellPhoenix but it was already taken, don't judge."

Jaune gave him a scrutinizing look, "You don't look too impressive for someone who apparently created my universe. No offense." He added sheepishly.

Phoenix laughed at that, "None taken. I just didn't wanna overwhelm you, but you seem to be taking this very well. So, I'll 'put on' something more fitting." The tattoo on his hand starting glowing red before his whole body was engulfed in flames. The flames grew larger and larger until they pulled away, forming two wings of pure flames connected to the back of the knight standing there now. He stood seven feet tall, covered in pitch black armor with silver accents. On his right pauldron was the same symbol that used to be tattooed on his hand but in silver. Silver chains were wrapped around his forearms, they were easily seen on the inner arm but the outer arm's bracers hid the chains underneath, and a large black and silver sword was sheathed on his left hip. The helmet had a full-face mask that was featureless besides the single slit than ran across it at eye level and the the two small silver wings on either side of it. The fire wings folded behind him to form a cloak of flames before they coalesced into a red flowing cloak. "Better?" he asked in a deeper voice that seemed to echo slightly.

Jaune nodded dumbly. "That's a bit better."

Phoenix nodded, "I thought so. As for where you are, this is my own world. Think of it as a pocket dimension that exists between the world I come from and the universes I've helped to make. Although, this is my private study." He started to walk to the door, "Come on, I know you have questions and I need to stretch my legs." Jaune stood up and walked with Phoenix out the room. Jaune was unnerved when he saw the door vanish when it closed. "Sorry about that. My… significant other likes my work. She'll sneak in and try to see what I'm working on if I don't hide it."

Jaune nodded and the two started to walk down the long hallway, small lights were on the walls to illuminate it. "So, why am I here, exactly?" Jaune asked.

"Honestly, I wanted the chance to talk to you and give you a choice later. Your universe was my first project and it was a shocking success, no offense. I hoped its creation would change a few things I did not like about the original universe." Phoenix responded with the same echoed voice.

"What changes?' Jaune asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll show you." He brought his right index and middle finger to Jaune's forehead and Jaune's mind was shown the events of the Fall of Beacon of the prime universe. Afterwards, he stepped back and gripped his head. He just stared in disbelief. "Saddening, right? Most of us Writers feel the same way and we have different ways to change it. My thinking was for an improved version of the Prime Jaune. As you saw, he had no training, no aura or access to his Semblance. So, I thought if he had those things, maybe events would be altered." He sighed, "I was right and that's where you came in. But you had to deal with a lot of pain to do so. For that, I apologize." He said sincerely.

Jaune just looked at him, "So, you controlled everything about my life?" He asked with a mix of anger and sorrow.

Phoenix shook his head, "No. Honestly, I'm not sure I actually created your universe or you." Jaune looked beyond confused. "Some would believe that I created your universe and a few others, I don't personally know. It could be argued that I didn't create your universe but merely had the ability to watch it and record it. I like to think that all Writers can see universes that only they have access to but they can make adjustments but not completely alter the worlds they watch. It's Our duty to record those worlds so others can see them. Instead of selfishly hiding them for only themselves to view." He looked up for a second, "That makes me sound pretentious, doesn't it?"

Jaune couldn't help but smirk, "Just a bit." He then thought about something, "Did you intend for me to be with all my girlfriends?"

Phoenix just chuckled, "Oh no, don't blame me for that. There were multiple scenarios for you to fall in love with any of them. You fell in love with all of them and decided to date them all. That was all you, man." He chuckled.

Jaune flushed slightly before his eyes widened. He grabbed the armored Writer's left arm, "My team and RWBY, are they safe?!"

"Don't worry, they're fine. They're on Patch, mourning you actually."

Jaune's eyes widened before his hand went to his stomach, "So, I really did die."

Phoenix nodded, "In a way. But now we come to that choice I mentioned." They arrived in a large circular room with dozens of similar oak doors that he saw in the study. All had golden plaques on the middle of each door, some with words carved in calligraphy. "These doors lead to the different worlds I've helped to create and recorded. Or will eventually. Most are still empty." He motioned to his right, "Those three are ones I've started to record. One is already done." Jaune looked around, he saw one of the three had the same symbol as Phoenix's tattoo while the other two didn't. He couldn't read the plaques from where he was. Phoenix started to walk to the door on their left, "This one, you'll want to see." Jaune followed and saw this door had a scorch mark just above the plaque. It was Phoenix's symbol. Jaune read the plaque and his eyes widened.

It read: Jaune Arc: The Elemental Swordsman

"This is the door to your world, Jaune." Phoenix told him, "Your journey is over but the evil in your world is not finished. You dealt them a devastating blow, but they will continue with their plans. Even I have no idea how it will go. So, you have a choice to make: You can go through the door in front of you and die indefinitely, to finally rest. Or…" Phoenix walked to the door just to its right. Jaune looked at it, the plaque was empty, and no symbol was on it. "You can go through this one and I'll send you back, but you'll have a chance to continue your journey." He looked at Jaune in the eyes, "The decision is yours Jaune, just like it always has." He gently patted Jaune on his shoulder and walked away from him, to give him space.

Jaune looked between the two doors before he closed his eyes. He stood like that for a few minutes before he took a deep breath and opened them again. He looked at the door on his left and placed his hand over the symbol on it. He smirked, "No rest for the weary." He removed his hand and walked to the other door, he placed his hand on the doorknob before he looked over his shoulder to look at Phoenix. "Will I remember any of this?" he asked.

Phoenix shook his head, "Sorry but no. Since you're not a being like me, you can't retain information from being outside your own universe. Could cause a lot of problems to the multiverse if you did. So, you'll forget everything you've seen and heard here once you walk through."

Jaune just nodded to the Writer as he did the same. Jaune opened the door and was blinded by a bright light. "Wish me luck." he said before he walked through the doorway. The door closed behind him.

Phoenix chuckled and walked to the door. "Good luck." His right index finger was coated in flames as he placed it on the plaque. The flames surged across the plaque, writing: The Void Swordsman

"Time to get back to work." Was all he said as he turned and went back to his study, shifting back to his other form a she walked way. He needed to continue with helping to make that world and to record it for others to see.

* * *

 **A/N- It is time.  
**


End file.
